Positive Rewritten
by FieryFestus
Summary: "We did it, Perce," Annabeth whispered, barely containing her excitement, "I'm pregnant." The start of a whole new adventure. A rewrite of my story Positive, which is still available on my account. PJO and HOO belong to Rick Riordan. A touch of bad language.
1. Chapter 1

"Come on," Annabeth mumbled, "come on, come on. Hurry up."

The stick did not reply, on the grounds that it was, in fact, an inanimate object. Trying to pass time, she tapped the sink to an unknown beat, and stared out the window at next door's damned cat who insisted on using their garden as a toilet. She rolled her eyes, before sitting on the edge of the bath tub. Who knew five minutes could feel like an infinity?

After what felt like an eternity, the alarm on her phone finally went off. She heard shuffling outside the door – Percy. A baby was his idea in the first place, but Annabeth was surprisingly keen about it. She was up for the challenge, but that was before she had any idea of just how _stressful_ it all is. She and Percy had had their fair share of disappointment in the last three months, which had led to insecurities, which led to conflict, which, thankfully, always ended in apologies. All that, and she wasn't even pregnant yet.

Or was she?

She looked down at the stick, and ran straight to the door, opening it, and looking at Percy. He shuffled from foot to foot, wringing his hands together – he was probably releasing enough nervous energy to power the entirety of the U.S. No exaggeration. He looked at her expectantly, and Annabeth grinned, biting her lip.

"We did it, Perce." She whispered, barely containing her excitement. "I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened, cracking a huge grin, his face lighting up like a kid's at Christmas. Annabeth jumped into his arms, squealing, knocking him to the ground. He laughed, running his hand through her hair, and kissing her. Annabeth grinned against his lips, unable to wipe the smile off her face.

"Come on." Percy said. "we need to get off the floor."

Annabeth nodded, and they stood up, and Percy wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you." He muttered into her hair. "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou."

Annabeth smiled into his chest.

"I love you too." She smiled at him, standing on her tiptoes, and pecking his lips again. Percy laughed, and took her hand in his, dragging her into the living room, and collapsing onto the couch, dragging Annabeth down on top of him. Rolling her eyes, she crawled off his lap so she was lying down, her head on his lap. Percy looked straight ahead of him, like he did when he was thinking. She could see all the cogs in his brain working, trying to take it all in. Annabeth took his hand.

"You alright?" Annabeth asked.

Percy grinned down at her.

"We're gonna be parents." He told her. "_Us_. I'm gonna be a Dad. You're gonna be a Mom."

Annabeth bit her lip, and nodded.

"Gods." She whispered. "So what do we do now?"

Percy smirked, running a hand through his hair.

"Eat?" He suggested. "I'm starving."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, sighing and chucking him the take-away menu. He pointed out her usual, and she nodded.

"I was talking on the broader scare of things, Seaweed Brain." She muttered. "I mean, we need to start planning for everything, because there is no_ way_ I'm doing everything last minute, when I'm all fat and balloonish and... hey, are you even listening, Perseus?"

Percy nodded absent-mindedly.

"Now, should I get -"

Annabeth frowned, and snatched the menu off him. He laughed, tucking stray blonde curls away from her face, smiling that sexy half-smile which made her brain fuzz a little. Sighing, she handed him the menu back, surrendering to his annoyingly irresistible good looks. He dialled the number, twirling a blonde curl around his little finger as he spoke. Annabeth watched him, realising how lucky she was to have this man in her life. His absolute loyalty, his sense of humour, his easy-going, laid back attitude to everything. Not to mention he was rather attractive. Being a daughter of Athena, Annabeth knew a lot – and she knew that men like this were hard to come by, and she had somehow managed to catch one.

"Food's in about half-an-hour."

Annabeth nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose, making an internal list of things to do, things to arrange, this to organise, that to buy. She sighed deeply, realising the sheer scale of the task in hand. And then Percy was there, squeezing her hand, smiling down at her.

"Stressing already?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, we got nine months. We'll get it all done in time, whatever it is, 'cause I'm clueless."

Annabeth laughed.

"You're _always_ clueless."

Percy sighed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's what I'm worried about." He admitted. "What if I'm no good at this? What if I'm an -"

"Percy -"

"awful father? Like one of those guys who their kids don't want to see anymore -"

"Percy -"

"because they were so terrible?"

Shaking her head, Annabeth sat up, turning his head so he was facing her. She pecked his lips.

"That's not going to happen, Percy." She said. "You care. The thing is about the Dads that kids don't like are the ones who really don't give a damn. Seriously, Percy, a baby isn't going to judge you based on your ability to change diapers."

Percy sighed, and nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"I know, I know." He said. "Sorry."

Annabeth laughed.

"Don't apologise, Seaweed Brain." She smiled. "It's alright to be nervous."

He nodded, before smirking.

"I don't think nervous really cuts it." Percy muttered. Annabeth nodded, sighing, she leaned into him, his arm finding it's way around her shoulders. "Back to what you were saying - because I _was_ listening, by the way – the balloonish thing is pretty inevitable, I'm afraid."

Annabeth groaned a little. She certainly was _not_ vain, and she certainly didn't really care what she looked like, but waddling around like some sort of land-evolved puffer fish really wasn't her style. All those years of training to be agile and fit and fast would be out of the window for a few months, and that prospect was difficult for her to grasp. She huffed, and Percy chuckled, squeezing her shoulder.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, I won't mind. I think I'm gonna enjoy spoiling you."

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"I don't need spoiling, Seaweed Brain, I just need -" She stopped, and looked at Percy. "Did you hear that?" She asked.

Percy nodded, and walked over to the window, before groaning.

"Seriously?" He muttered, under his breath. "We were having a good day, and now this."

He jogged upstairs, grabbing his armour, checking his pocket for Riptide. He nodded, and Annabeth appeared beside him, simultaneously grabbing her armour, and strapping Percy's up. He glared at her, and she rolled her eyes. Percy put his hand on her wrist gently, shaking his head.

"No." He said. "It's only one. I can manage on my own."

"I don't doubt that, Percy. But It's quicker with the two of us. Besides, I want to get it done before the food arrives."

Percy smiled, chuckling.

"Nice try, Wise Girl." He said. "But I'm not letting you fight for a few months. Sorry."

Annabeth huffed, ignoring him. Percy sighed heavily.

"I'm serious, Annabeth." He said sternly, his eyes steely calm. "I don't want you getting hurt. Especially now. If something happened to you or the baby I -"

"- fine, Percy. Fine." Annabeth said. "Just... be careful, Seaweed Brain, alright?"

Percy smiled, and winked.

"I'm always careful." He kissed her, short, but sweet. "I love you."

With that, he walked out of the door.

* * *

Hellhounds popped into Percy's life pretty regularly, but, since he became the owner of his very own huge, black dog (AKA Mrs. O'Leary) he found them difficult to kill. Not just because of the physical aspect of the fighting and the running and general killing, but because of the emotional side. Whenever he killed one, watching it turn to dust pulled a string in his heart and it sort of hurt. Thus, hellhounds became both his least favourite and his favourite monsters.

This emotional side put him at a disadvantage, since, he guessed, hellhounds didn't have much of a brain, let alone experienced emotion. So, as usual, it pounced on him, before Percy could even _think_ about what he was going to do about it. He ducked just in time to avoid getting his head bitten off, but unfortunately not enough for it to have a little nip at his arm.

He cursed, flexing his shoulder. He looked straight at it, trying to anticipate it's next move. "Come on, Scooby Doo." He taunted, getting ready to take it on. Obviously, the hellhound wasn't a big fan of cartoons, and didn't seem to get the reference, so bounded towards Percy instead. Percy swung Riptide in a deadly arc, turning the monster to dust.

"Sorry boy." He muttered, re-capping his sword. He rolled his sleeve up to take a look at his arm. He sighed. He was going to need some nectar on that.

He trudged back into the house, finding Annabeth waiting at the front door, a square of ambrosia in her hand, a bottle of nectar in the other.

"I told you to be careful," she muttered, raising an eyebrow, handing him a square of ambrosia and wrapping her arms around him. Percy gladly fell into them, kissing the top of her head.

"I was," He mumbled, into her hair, "I just don't like killing those things."

Annabeth nodded.

"Let me take a look at your arm," She said, although it wasn't much of a request. Percy peeled off his t-shirt (which still made Annabeth blush a little) and Annabeth sighed.

"It's not so bad." She said, "hang on." She poured a tiny bit of nectar on the wound, which closed up into nothing but a tiny scar. "There," she said, "another scar to add to your impressive collection."

Percy laughed a little, before pecking her lightly, and grinning.

"Hey," he said, "We're gonna be parents."


	2. Chapter 2

Annabeth sprang out of bed, heaving, making a dash to the bathroom. Percy lay there, already wide awake, waiting, expecting this to happen, just like it had pretty much every single morning for the past couple of months. He groaned to himself softly, listening to the retching coming from the bathroom. He knew this whole pregnancy thing would be tough on her – they had talked about that – but Percy suddenly got the impression that he had underestimated it slightly, and he had a hunch that Annabeth may have, too. He rolled out of bed, quietly shuffling to the bathroom.

Annabeth stood in front of the sink, washing her mouth out, before sighing deeply, staring at her reflection. The bags under her eyes were more like trucks – she looked absolutely and undoubtedly exhausted. Her hair was tied in an unsightly bush on top of her head, and her eyes were still heavy from sleep.

And yet she saw Percy, stood at the door, looking at her like she was some sort of angel or goddess, giving her that sweet, sympathetic smile that made her want to crumble and fall into his arms.

So she did.

Percy opened her arms out to her, and she fell into them, burying her head into the crook of his neck, sighing deeply. He kissed the top of her head, her hair tickling his nose, and making him sneeze. Annabeth smiled a little.

"Are you alright?" He mumbled, his voice low and croaky, still thick with sleep.

"I'm fine." Annabeth whispered, nodding. "I just want to know when all this sickness crap will be over, you know?"

Percy nodded in agreement, before smiling and saying, "We'll find out today, anyway," and taking her hand, pulling her back into bed, wrapping his arms around her, kissing the back of her neck. Annabeth relaxed. Just the sweet, little things which Percy did made her feel that little bit better, and, as she was drifting off, listening to the soft, rhythmic sounds of his snores, couldn't help but be a little excited about having a family with this man.

It was times like these when Percy wished he didn't have to sleep. Just as slumber found him, nightmare's bony hands would snatch him and drag him away from a restful sleep, and plunge him into one weaved in terror. They could be anything – from reliving horrible memories to seeing something so _real_ and frightful, that he felt like sobbing, hoping that sleep would save him and drag him back into the real world, with Annabeth in his arms.

It wasn't sleep who saved him this time. It was Annabeth: propped up on one elbow, shaking his shoulder and saying his name, eventually rousing him from the world of fear he had visited in his dreams. She stroked his messy black hair as he recovered, his eyes a little teary and rimmed in red. She didn't say anything – just planted a soft, gentle kiss on his forehead, a little reminder that it wasn't real, and things were okay.

He sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes with his hands, and smiling up at Annabeth a little, cupping her cheek with his hand.

"Thank you." He murmured shivering a little.

Annabeth smiled a little, before sighing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shut his eyes tight, shaking his head.

"Definitely not." He muttered.

Annabeth nodded, knowing the feeling. She lay back, resting her head on his chest. Percy wrapped his arm around her, smiling a little, giving her a little squeeze.

"Today's the day." He whispered, Pecking her temple.

Annabeth grinned, and took his hand.

"How much time off have you got today?" She asked.

"All day."

"_All_ _day_?"

Percy nodded. Since he was a teacher, and Paul was his boss, he didn't like to admit it, but he got special treatment because Paul was married to his mother. Percy owed so much to him that he couldn't even consider how he was going to pay him back for everything he had done for him and Annabeth, and, of course, his beautiful mother.

"For Zeus's sake, Percy." She muttered, shuffling away from him. "we need every little bit of money we get, these days, and not going to work means not getting paid and -"

"Paul's paying me." Percy interrupted. "He's counted it as a 'family emergency' so I get paid. It's not a problem."

"it's not a 'family emergency', though, is it? You get treated differently from the other teachers. Paul already does enough for us as it is, Percy."

"It _is_ family, though." Percy protested.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, turning away from him, huffing. Percy sighed. He should have expected this, really. Annabeth was always very strict about him going to work, and with hormones on top of that … well. That conversation was pretty inevitable, really. He sighed, rolling out of bed, and throwing on a hoodie and socks, rubbing his eyes. It seemed that every time he closed them, he would get some sort of flashback from one of his nightmares. It, admittedly, had been a particularly bad one this time, and he was still feeling a little jumpy.

"Where are you going?" Annabeth muttered, shooting him a glare over her shoulder.

He perched on the edge of the bed, and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, I'm sorry. You're probably right about Paul. But I thought we could make a day of today? Go down to the beach or something?" He suggested. "And to answer your question, I was going to make you breakfast."

Annabeth opened an eye, and smiled at him apologetically. He laughed, and kissed her brow.

"Back in flash." He grinned, leaving the room with a wink.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. That man.

* * *

Percy hated hospitals. He hated the old people shuffling round, the expressionless doctors going about giving their patients what they needed, the sterile smell, the wails you hear when someone has lost someone they love, the people coming through the doors who wouldn't come back. They were so morbid, so depressing.

He snaked an arm around Annabeth's waist, hoping she wouldn't notice how sweaty his hands were. He was, admittedly, nervous. He just wanted his baby to be okay, and, for once, have things go right for him and Annabeth. Then he smiled widely. He was going see his baby for the first time. It was going to be a good day. He looked at Annabeth, who looked, for the first time in a long time, nervous too. Her lips were curled in a tiny smile, but her grey eyes were stormy.

Percy squeezed her shoulder a little. She looked at him.

"You okay?" He whispered.

She rolled her eyes and nodded, but mumbled, "just nervous" and rested her head on his shoulder. Percy gave a slight nod in agreement, and sighed deeply, tapping his foot. He may have it a little more under control, but the ADHD was still there, and, especially when he was nervous, he wasn't any good at keeping still. Annabeth put a hand on his knee to steady him, and he smiled apologetically at her. She rolled her eyes, but kissed his cheek.

They were called into a room. Percy sat down on an uncomfortable plastic chair by the bed, giving Annabeth an excited grin and a wink. She laughed, and settled down on the bed, Percy taking her hand in both of his, kissing her knuckles. Even little things that Percy did made her a little giddy.

A midwife spun around on her chair, with one of those crazy, genuine grins that just made everything in the room seem a little better.

"Hi," She said, still displaying her unbelievably white teeth, and checking her notes. "Annabeth Jackson?"

Annabeth smiled and nodded, looking down at her free hand. The midwife looked at Percy.

"You're Dad?"

Percy grinned, nodding enthusiastically, holding his hand out. "Yeah. Percy." She shook it with a smile. She let out a wistful sigh. She new a perfect couple when she saw one. The sneaky glances at each other, the way Annabeth was still a little shy around him, the way Percy's hand went straight back to Annabeth's after she had she had shaken it.

"Okay, my name's Emma. You've got me throughout all this pregnancy business, so don't hesitate to ask any questions or anything. So how long have you been together?"

"7 years," Percy said. "We've been married for eight months."

Emma raised her eyebrows. They looked very young to have been in a relationship for as long as that. She checked her notes. Annabeth was 23. They had been together since she was sixteen. Her heart melted, and she switched a few machines on.

"That's very sweet." She said, and they both blushed identically furious shades of red, which she thought was even sweeter. She picked up a bottle of jelly. "Alright, this is going to be cold. I guess you know that, since it's a huge cliché."

Annabeth nodded, and squealed a little as soon as it touched her. Percy smirked.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Emma said, laughing.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, sighing, looking up to the screen, squeezing Percy's hand tightly. 'He'd better get used to this,' she thought, wryly, but there was still no baby on the screen. She and Percy exchanged worried looks until...

"Gotcha!" Emma said, triumphantly. The knot in Annabeth's stomach loosened, and she looked up at the screen, biting her lip. She loosened her grip on Percy's hand, and he squeezed it. She glanced over at him. He was grinning up at the screen, and with good reason. This baby was their future. A first taste of normality. Something to love. Everything they've always wanted. Emma pointed out fingers and toes and a nose and a thumb in its mouth. Just little things that made it real.

"You're just over three months, looking at this. And I'm ninety-seven percent sure I know what the sex is, but it's up to you if you want to know or not. And, just to clarify, ninety-seven percent is _not_ one hundred percent, so it could be different next time you come."

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other. They were not expecting finding out _that_ today, and hadn't even discussed it. Percy gave a slight nod, and a shrug, which Annabeth determined as "I want to know, but it's up to you." She looked at him, and gave him a half-smile.

"Alright." She said. "Tell us."

Emma squinted at the screen.

"Yep. I'm pretty sure you've got a little girlie."

Percy, who had temporarily lost the ability to form coherent words, grinned at Annabeth, unable to do much more. A girl. He was going to have a daughter.

* * *

They sat on the beach, shoulder to shoulder, watching the tide draw in, sharing a portion of chips. They couldn't wipe the smiles from their faces, but had hardly said a word to each other since the hospital. They were too busy taking in the news. Okay, so firstly, they had less than six months to wait. They were going to have a little girl. The sickness thing should be going any time soon. Percy sighed contentedly, stealing the last chip, and laying back in the damp sand, looking up at the clouds. Annabeth lay back too, resting her head on his shoulder and draping an arm around him.

"She's gonna be a daddy's girl." Percy mumbled.

Annabeth laughed softly.

"Yeah, right," She said, "not if I can have it my way."

It was silent again, nothing but the sound of a few squealing children further down the beach, and a few seagulls. Annabeth closed her eyes, listening to Percy's steady heartbeat, the waves lapping at the shore, oblivious to Percy watching her. The way her mouth was curled into a tiny, almost undetectable smile, her soft breaths, the curls blowing in her face. He brushed them behind her ears, earning a slightly bigger smile, before a sigh. She opened her eyes.

"Percy?" She asked, her voice suddenly small and timid. "Are you going to be there? You know... when she comes?"

Percy chuckled softly, taking her hand and kissing the top of her head.

"Of course I will, if it's what you want." He said, gently. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Annabeth sighed with relief, and she relaxed a little more.

"Honestly, Wise Girl, I wouldn't worry about it. You're the strongest person I know. If anyone can do it, you can."

Annabeth smiled and kissed his cheek. Percy rolled his eyes, and kissed her properly, pulling her closer to him. He grinned against her lips, before kissing her nose.

"I love you." Annabeth muttered.

Percy laughed.

"I know." He said. "I love you too."


	3. Chapter 3

Percy was already out of bed by the time Annabeth woke up. To be fair, she was tired. Percy had taken her out for the day (again) yesterday, and they didn't get home until unexpectedly late (or early, whichever way you see it) and since she was gestating his demon spawn... well. It had knocked her out, really. She stretched, rolling out of bed, yawning loudly. She was usually good with mornings, but not today, obviously.

She stood in front of the mirror, tying her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head. She was wearing one of Percy's old camp t-shirts, and it made her feel a little... not quite homesick. But she had grown up there, trained there, made some amazing friends there. To say she missed it would be an understatement. She lifted it up a little, curiously showing her stomach, giving it a little poke. There was almost definitely some extra podge, but she was unsure as to whether it was just too many cakes or the baby making herself at home. She strongly suspected it was the latter. Being four months at this point, Annabeth expected something, at least a tiny bit, to stick out a little. She sighed, pulling the t-shirt back down and leaving the room.

"Ah, good evening." Percy said, with a smirk, leaning on the counter in the kitchen, sipping at his coffee.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, standing on her tiptoes and pecking his lips, before diving into the cereal cupboard, making herself some breakfast. She could feel his eyes roving over her and sighed, turning around and raising her eyebrows at him.

"What?" She asked, taking a spoon from the drawer and closing it without looking, promptly trapping her finger in it. Percy chuckled softly from the corner. Annabeth glared at him. "Seriously, Percy, what?"

He shook his head a little.

"You just have no idea how gorgeous you are."

She looked away, blushing into her cornflakes, tucking her hair behind her ear. She could feel Percy smiling, watching her.

"Will you stop that?" She said, finally looking up at him. "I'm trying to eat."

Percy smirked.

"You don't seem to be having any trouble."

Annabeth looked down to her empty bowl, before laughing, giving in. She put it in the dishwasher, and poked her belly again with distaste. She wasn't going to enjoy the beach ball look, no matter how much Percy loved the sea. She sighed.

"Have you seen this?" She asked, pulling the t-shirt tight around her stomach, so he could see. "Your sprog is making me fat."

Percy laughed, looking down at her swollen torso.

"You love her really."

Annabeth nodded and smiled.

"Of course." She said, brightly, "However, her father..."

Percy's jaw dropped in mock hurt, and he turned his back on Annabeth, crossing his arms like a child. Annabeth chuckled softly, creeping up behind him, draping her arms loosely around his neck, kissing it.

"You know I don't mean that." She whispered, and Percy smiled, kissing her hands, spinning around, and wrapping his arms around her, kissing the end of her nose, her brow, her lips. He grinned, turning Annabeth's legs into jelly. She sighed, and kissed his cheek.

"Percy, we need to tell our parents."

Percy nodded reluctantly. She was right, of course. Paul was the only one who knew because of work, and putting it off and putting it off and putting it off was just going to make things worse. He wasn't worried about his Mom's reaction. Not at all. It was the gods' reactions that he was worried about. He didn't know how Poseidon or Athena felt about grandchildren, and the last thing he wanted was to be pulverised. He ran a hand through his hair, and grinned.

"I can't believe this is actually happening." He muttered, mainly to himself.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"It's been happening for the past four months, Seaweed Brain."

"Yeah but now we're gonna tell people and I know she's a she and I can see her and you _look_ pregnant and I just... it's really exciting and it's happening so fast."

Annabeth laughed and hugged him tightly. She was so happy with the direction her life was taking, and she knew a few years ago she just didn't feel that way. But now she and Percy were settled in what could potentially be a _normal_ life, it just felt too good to be true. She sighed, and looked back down.

"I don't look _that_ pregnant, do I?" She asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

Percy smiled, and shook his head.

"Not really. I noticed a few days ago, but didn't say anything because I knew you weren't so happy that you were gonna have to go for the 'I swallowed a football look.'" Annabeth glared at him, and Percy had the nerve to laugh. "Honestly, Annabeth, you really don't have to worry about it. You're still you, and I think you're beautiful, and I'm in love with you."

Annabeth couldn't suppress her smile as she kissed him.

"You, Perseus Jackson, are very sweet."

Percy laughed.

"Yeah, with my sword and everything, I'm virtually a marshmallow." He joked. "I'm going to take a shower."

* * *

As Percy drove, he couldn't help but think how young they were. 23 years old is pretty young to be starting a family. But he knew it was the right thing to do. He was in a steady relationship, with a steady job, with enough money between him and Annabeth to support themselves. He had been with Annabeth for seven years after-all, and, as he glanced at her, he knew they were the foundations of the something permanent that Annabeth had always wanted. This family would never fall down.

He thought about what his Mom was going to think about all this. He was sure she'd be pleased. She was the same age when she had him, and, if she could manage a crazy, ADHD, dyslexic demigod alone, then he and Annabeth could, too. Gods, they could manage anything after everything they'd been through.

Percy pulled up outside Sally and Paul's apartment with a deep, nervous sigh. He grinned at Annabeth, who smiled back. This was going to be good. He was determined for it to be. They walked in, slipping off their shoes.

"Mom? Paul?" Percy called. "It's only us!"

Sally appeared from the kitchen, her brown hair tied back, flour all over her apron. She was one of those people who got even more beautiful with age – her smile became even kinder, her eyes a little browner, her hair, although threaded with grey, a little curlier. She grinned at them, going to give them a hug, before stopping herself, noting the flour on her apron.

"Hi," She said, "you came just in time. Cookies are almost done."

Percy grinned, and pecked her cheek.

"Awesome." He asked. "What colour are they?"

Sally rolled her eyes.

"Brown, I'm afraid." She said, apologetically. "I didn't know you were coming."

Percy laughed.

"Neither did we." He admitted. "Last minute decision. Where's Paul?"

At this moment, Paul stuck his head around the kitchen door, grinning.

"Here." He said,

Sally rolled her eyes, and kicked everyone out of the kitchen, making a pot of tea. Percy sat back on the couch, Annabeth curling up under his arm. Percy raised his eyebrows at Paul.

"I hope you've kept it quiet." He said, softly.

Paul smiled and nodded.

"You've left it a bit late though, Perce." He gestured to Annabeth's bump, and Percy laughed. "She's probably noticed but doesn't want to say anything in case she's wrong."

Percy looked at Annabeth and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"It just sort of... popped out a couple of days ago."

Paul laughed, and Sally walked in, tea and cookies in hand.

"What popped out?" She asked.

Percy looked at Annabeth. 'Oops,' he mouthed, and Annabeth rolled her eyes, before giving him a little nod. Percy poked Annabeth's stomach, and she squirmed, ticklish.

"That." He said, pointing at it. He grinned. "You're gonna be a Grandma."

Sally laughed, eyes widening, eyebrows raised, plonking onto the couch beside Paul.

"I wondered when you were going to tell me." She said, wryly.

"What?" Percy asked.

Sally rolled her eyes.

"I might be ageing, Percy, but I'm not blind. And secondly, do you really think you could tell Paul something like that without him telling me?"

He and Annabeth shot a glare at Paul, who held his hands up in surrender, suddenly grateful of his mortality – at least neither of them could stab him. Not that they would, of course. Before Annabeth smiled, and looked up at Percy, pecking his cheek.

"She's right, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth grinned. "You couldn't really expect Paul _not_ to tell her. That's like... me not telling you."

Percy rubbed his eyes, and nodded. He sighed.

"Sorry Mom." He gave a sheepish smile, and Sally laughed, looking at Annabeth like _can you believe him?_ But she smiled, and pulled them both into a tight hug, gushing and babbling and telling endless, mortifying baby stories involving baths and smiles and pictures of him in a washing up bowl with his little willy on display for the whole wide world to see. His mother, naturally, had showed this to Annabeth countless times, and Annabeth would usually tease him about it for the next week or so. He sighed deeply, and Sally ruffled his hair.

"Oh, don't worry Percy." She told him, with a fond smile. "Your time will come. I reckon you'll be doing this in about fifteen years time, when he or she has a girlfriend or -"

"She." Percy said.

Sally raised her eyebrows.

"A granddaughter?" She asked, and Percy nodded. "That's brilliant! Make the most of her, Percy. It goes so quick. I mean, look at you now." She sighed wistfully. "My baby, about to have a baby of his own..."

Percy sighed, and gave his Mom a hug, before leaving a little while later. He loved his Mom so much, but she really could gush, and there was only so much of that he could take.

* * *

"Honestly, I thought you would have recognised me by now." Percy said, rolling his eyes. "Especially Annabeth. She comes here all the time."

The guy's face flashed with recognition, but he held his ground.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Percy sighed, and leaned over the desk.

"Really. I may be a little older than most demigods, but I'm still a son of Poseidon, and monsters still like me. I would let us up, if I were you."

The guy nodded, giving a little shrug and an apologetic look, handing him the key card.

"Sorry, Percy. It's protocol. I could lose my job if I didn't." He said. "Nice to see you, Annabeth."

Annabeth smiled, and took Percy's hand, following them into the elevator, beginning a rant about how since they came up to Olympus fairly regularly they should be given cards permanently so they could come and go as they please. Percy absent-mindedly nodded in the right places. She was right, but his mind was latched upon other things. Namely, Athena. How was she going to take this? He was unsure. He looked over at Annabeth, and smiled. She tended to babble when she was nervous. She was babbling now, that was for sure.

"Honestly, Annabeth," Percy interrupted, "My dad'll be pretty cool about it. I'm fairly certain."

Annabeth nodded.

"It's my Mom I'm worried about." She agreed. "Even after you fell after me and after everything you've done for me, she's not your biggest fan."

Percy smirked, trying to alleviate her nerves.

"Honestly, my fan base is so huge now I'm genuinely surprised." He said, sarcastically.

Annabeth gave him a gentle slap on the arm, and the doors pinged open, and, as usual, Percy's breath was taken away. It truly was astoundingly beautiful. And his wife had designed all this. And oversaw its construction. Proud didn't cut it. No where near. Yet, as they walked down the path, Annabeth would groan and comment on everything she would _change_ about the architecture, and Percy would disagree. She pecked his cheek, leading him to Athena's temple, taking a deep breath.

"Lets get this over and done with, Seaweed Brain."

They stepped inside, and again, Percy was blown away by the pure _beauty_ of the place. Annabeth had obviously put _a lot_ of time into this. Maybe more than the others. Scratch that, definitely more. He smiled a little. He guessed that had something to do with her fatal flaw. Grey columns lined the walls, carved in rich, grey stone. Figures of owls perched in corners, crafted from some sort of material Percy had never even seen before.

"This place is incredible." He murmured, under his breath.

Annabeth nodded.

"Thanks, it -" She stopped short, and knelt. Percy looked up and found himself face to face with almighty owl-face herself. He, grudgingly, knelt too. Athena sighed, and gestured for them to stand.

"Annabeth, I don't expect you to kneel at my -" She stopped, her eyes drifting to her midriff. "Are you pregnant?"

Annabeth nodded slowly. Athena glared at Percy accusingly, and his hand slipped into Annabeth's.

"I take it this was you, Son of Poseidon."

Percy nodded.

"Yes, Lady Athena." He said, resisting the urge to snap. He didn't want to give her a reason to pulverise him or turn him into a dictionary or an owl or anything.

Athena sighed.

"Annabeth? Are you sure you're making the right decision?" She stopped. "He makes you happy?"

Annabeth looked over at Percy, unable to stop the smile from forming.

"He makes me very happy."

Percy kissed her cheek. Athena gave a look of mild disgust.

"Gah, stop with the romance. I have enough from Aphrodite." She grumbled. "It's fine. This was bound to happen some day, I suppose. I approve. Now, off you go. I'm busy."

In a daze, Percy and Annabeth walked out of the temple.

"Did she just - ?" Percy asked.

"Percy, she did. She approved. She's okay with us." A smile crept across her face, and Percy laughed, wrapping his arm around her waist, and pulling her close to him. And the she stopped suddenly. Percy's arm dropped from her waist and he looked at her worriedly.

"Annabeth?" He asked, nervously, "Are you alright?"

She nodded, and grabbed his wrist, pressing his hand against her bump.

"Can you feel that?" She asked, with the tiniest of smiles.

In reply, Percy looked up at her in awe, his mouth quirking into a smile, and then a grin. He pecked her lips, his hand still on her bump. She kicked harder when they kissed. Percy looked down and, and laughed.

"Oh, she does _not_ like PDA." He said, with a grin. "No kissing from now on."

Percy took her hand and they walked through Olympus on a search for Poseidon. They were still buzzing from the kick when Percy caught sight of a familiar crazy shirt and board shorts. He smiled.

"Dad!" Percy called. "Hold up!"

Poseidon turned around to see what all the fuss was about, before grinning at the sight of his son, waiting for him. Percy and Annabeth quickened up the pace at which they were walking, and stopped in front of him.

"Hey Dad." Percy said, with a smile, holding his hand out. Poseidon shook it.

"Hello, Son." He said, with a smile. "Hi, Annabeth. Baby on the way?"

Percy grinned and nodded.

"We came up here to tell you." Percy admitted. "I guess we left a bit late. It's good to see you."

He grinned.

"Likewise." Poseidon said. "Better late than never, eh? Congratulations."

"Thanks, Lord Poseidon." Annabeth said.

He rolled his eyes.

"Enough with the 'Lord'" He smiled. "You're married to my son. I'm a lot more easygoing with family. Although, I like to admit, it does feel good to be reminded of your power every so often."

Percy and Annabeth laughed, and Poseidon patted Percy's back.

"I have to go, I'm afraid." He said. "Keep me up to date with the baby. It's been so many years since we've had any grandchildren around here." He smiled. "I'll see you soon, both of you."

Percy smiled.

"Bye Dad."


	4. Chapter 4

"We've got to do _all_ that, in less than four months?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows. "Is that even possible?"

He took the list off Annabeth, looking through it, the sense if fear and dread building up in him with each word he read. Thankfully, Annabeth had written it in Greek, so he could at least read it without having to contend with dyslexia too. He sighed deeply, glancing over at Annabeth's bump. He knew she would be worth all the stress, but when he signed up for the job of 'Dad' he wasn't really expecting a list of jobs taking up five pages of Annabeth's notebook.

"Yep." Annabeth said, shuffling back into her chair. "Unfortunately, the deadline's not flexible, either. We've gotta get it done before the middle of November at the latest, because babies are unpredictable."

Percy smiled a little.

"Hey, she's mine," he laughed, "she'll probably be late."

Annabeth bumped him with her shoulder.

"She's also mine." She said. "So she'll probably be right on time."

"Damn you, Wise Girl." He mumbled, with a small smile. "Your perfectness is making things more difficult, for once."

"Shut up, Percy."

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking back down at the list, and then at Annabeth. She was in no shape to do some of the things on there, like building the crib, moving the furniture into her room. The difficult part would be getting her to accept that they were going to need help – and lots of it – to get everything done in time. He ran a hand through his hair, and drummed his fingers on the desk.

"I hate to say this," He said, looking back up at Annabeth, "but we're going to need some dam help here."

Annabeth glared at him.

"Firstly, don't you think the joke's getting a bit old? And secondly, I didn't get pregnant for everyone else to do the legwork for us, Percy. We're going to have to work out how to do this."

Percy put his head on the desk. That weekend had been taken up – Sally had insisted they go round to theirs for a night, and they had only come home a few hours earlier. Percy had cooked dinner, Annabeth wrote the list. And now they were going through it, wondering how they were going to get it all done. They both had work early in the morning, Percy had a parent's night that week, so they would only have four evenings instead of five to sort more things. The deadline was closer than ever, and Percy had never felt further from being ready for it.

He rubbed his eyes, taking a sip from his tea. Not to mention, he was exhausted.

"Alright." He said, really not wanting to upset Annabeth. He had learned that the hard way a couple of weeks earlier. "I've got an idea. When are you finishing work?"

Annabeth looked up at the calendar, flicking through the months.

"Beginning of October."

Percy nodded, grabbing a highlighter, and highlighting all the tiring things, and the things they needed to do together.

"Right," He mumbled, recapping the lid, "We have to get most of this done before October, so you can try and sort out the little things when you're off work, which," he scratched the back of his neck, "is really _not_ how I wanted this to be like. Not at all." He looked at her guiltily. "I've really fucked this one up, huh? Maybe if I'd started thinking about sorting all this earlier we wouldn't have this problem." He put his head in his hands.

Annabeth looked through the notebook.

"Chin up, Seaweed Brain." She squeezed his shoulder a little. "It's not your fault. There's two of us, in case you haven't noticed."

Percy looked up at her, sighing deeply.

"I don't think you get it." He mumbled. "I'm the dad, right? Dads are supposed to be the backbone, keeping everyone together. Getting stuff done. I mean, look at you. You're supposed to be relaxing reading baby magazines drinking prune juice and folding baby clothes - which we haven't got yet, by the way - or whatever pregnant women do, but instead you're sitting here helping me organise _my_ family because I'm incapable. I'm crap at this already and she's not even here yet."

Annabeth put the notepad down for a second, disappearing into the living room, finding a shoebox, and coming back in, sitting back beside him. She set the shoebox on the desk, and opened it, taking out a wad of photos, and handing them to Percy.

"These are the only pictures of me when I was a Kid." She said. "How many of them have my dad in them?"

Percy looked through them, smiling at Annabeth's curls, her determined expression. But then he realised all of them were at camp or with Thalia and Luke. Only one of them had her dad in. He looked at her, and handed her the picture.

"You don't get it, do you Percy?" She asked. "I don't have any childhood photos with my dad because he was hardly even _there._ Honestly, Percy, the idea of you being a rubbish dad is laughable. Your fatal flaw is _loyalty_, for Zeus's sake. That's not even a flaw. I know that you'll never leave her, or abandon her, or ignore her because you've got other kids to look after. And, honestly, Percy, you really are one of the sweetest, funniest, most caring guys around. You might be disorganised, maybe a little lazy, but you are already miles ahead of the other dads out there."

Percy looked down at the pictures for a long time, thinking about what Annabeth had just said. He looked over at her, the hair tucked behind her ear, the concentration on her face as she went through each page with a highlighter. Percy didn't really know what to say to her. Annabeth growled, throwing the notebook into the corner of the room. She smiled a little.

"That felt good." She grinned. "Screw the stupid notebook. We wanted to do this all together, and we will."

She sounded a lot more confident than Percy felt. He looked at her, smiling, maybe a little sadly.

"I wish it was as easy as you make it sound." He said.

Annabeth sighed, slumping back into the chair, crossing her arms over her bump. A tear slipped from her eye, and Percy sighed, taking her hand, switching off the light, and heading to their bedroom, lying on the bed, dragging Annabeth beside him. Brushing away her tears, he kissed her nose. Annabeth curled up in his arms, letting the tears fall into his t-shirt.

"I just didn't think it was going to be this hard." She whispered, choking on her words a little. "I guess that's my fatal flaw, huh? Turns out I'm not so good at everything. I underestimated this, Percy. By a long shot."

Percy lay on his side so he was facing her, pressing his forehead to hers.

"So did I." He mumbled. "Hey, we'll get through it though, right? We don't have a choice. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase – can save the world but can't handle getting ready for a baby. That's just dumb." He said. "Annabeth, honestly, it all seems pretty shit now, but I think in all the stress we forget about who this is for." He placed a hand on her bump, with a tiny smile. "We're going to have a baby, Annabeth. I'd rather die than let her down. Or you, for that matter."

Annabeth cupped his cheek in her hand, and they shared a teary kiss. Annabeth kicked off her leggings, and snuggled under the covers, staring up at the ceiling, a tiny smile etched on her face.

"I hope she's like you." She said, after a while.

Percy shook his head, laying back beside her.

"No. She's going to be beautiful and brave and intelligent like her mother. She'll have your eyes but my hair, 'cause you keep complaining about how terrible it is to have curly hair, and you hardly ever complain. I guess it must be pretty terrible."

Annabeth laughed.

"It is pretty terr -" She stopped, and her eyes widened at the clock. "Shit."

Percy followed her gaze.

"Oh, balls." He said, looking at the clock, reading half-one in the morning. "I've got work tomorrow."

He and Annabeth looked at each other for a second, and then laughed.

"It's alright." He smiled at her. "Sleep has to be put on hold when your pregnant wife is having her weekly emotional breakdown."

Annabeth laughed.

"I think you'll find it's fortnightly." She said. "Blame your daughter."

* * *

**This chapter isn't in the original story, but I'm actually very proud of this. I like it an awful lot. I was _trying_ to capture the mood swing stuff, but I don't really know how accurate that is.**

**I saw SoM today – I really loved it. I was really impressed by how much closer it was to the story line than TLT was. I might go and see it again. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend you do.**


	5. Chapter 5

Percy's night was proving to be one of the most restful ones he had ever experienced. No visits from nightmares, no visits from hungry monsters. He hadn't slept so soundly in weeks. Although, since Annabeth was about eight months now, he had probably been too tired for nightmares. In true Percy and Annabeth style, things didn't go as planned – they were going to sort things out early, so they could spend the last few months relaxing. But no. They didn't really have the time to sort anything out, so the last few weeks had been hectic, and the next couple of weeks promised to be. And even after the baby was born, they wouldn't be able to relax until she was at least one. However, the last thing he expected to be dreaming about was his best friend.

"Percy."

Percy knew that he was dreaming. He hadn't seen Grover in months.

"Hey, G-man! Long time no see! How's it going?"

Grover grinned, making his wispy beard wobble a little. He clopped down a street that seemed familiar to Percy, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I'm good!" Grover exclaimed. "Are you free? Can I come down to yours?"

Percy nodded enthusiastically. He hadn't seen his friend for so long, and it would be really great to see him. Maybe he could have a rest for the day, too. He was excited for the baby, sure, but things had been a little crazy of late, and it would be nice to cool it down a little.

"Sure! When are you thinking?"

Grover checked his watch, and looked where he was.

"I reckon I'll make it within the hour. Is that alright?" He asked. "I don't want to be any trouble if you're busy or -"

Percy waved it off, but silently laughing at the 'busy' remark. Grover didn't know about the baby, and Percy was sure it was going to make a very entertaining reunion after not having seen him in a year. He grinned.

"I'll see you in a while, stranger."

At that, Percy woke up. It must have been the empathy link. He grinned up at the ceiling, before turning over to wake Annabeth. He held himself back, though. She hadn't really been sleeping, and he knew it. He guessed that carrying around a ten pound weight on your front wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, and he figured that she, like him, was struggling with worry and nerves, too.

He smiled, kissing her cheek gently, brushing the hair from her face. She didn't even stir. He rolled out of bed, opting to leave Annabeth there. It would be cruel to wake her up from the little sleep she got, he decided. He went to leave the room, but stopped when she moaned a little in her sleep. He turned around, noticing the pained look on his face. Nightmare. He rushed over to her side of the bed, giving her shoulder a gentle shake.

"Annabeth." He said, but she wouldn't wake. "C'mon, Wise Girl."

She thrashed, still fast asleep. Percy sighed desperately, and gave her one final shake, which still wouldn't wake her. He sighed, and curled up beside her, gently wrapping his strong arms around her, not even flinching from the numerous accidental punches in the face or kicks in the shins from her constant thrashing. This happened sometimes, mostly to him. Being in a nightmare so powerful you couldn't even wake up until it was over. It was certainly the worst thing about being a demigod. That dread he felt in the pit of his stomach before he went to sleep would be with him for the rest of his life, now, and it was horrible to even think about.

There was only one thing worse – seeing Annabeth like this. Before he knew it, tears were spilling from his eyes. He still held her, no matter how much it broke him seeing her right then. He looked up at the sky. He closed his eyes, praying to all the gods he could think of.

"Please, make it stop." He whispered, choking on his words. "She doesn't deserve this. Please, please, please, make it stop."

He held her tighter than ever, and then it did stop. He felt her wake up, gasping, and that sigh of relief. He kissed the back of her neck, pressing his forehead against the back of her head. She turned around, forcing Percy to let go, since the bump was in the way. He took her hand, wiping the tears from his cheek.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered, kissing her knuckles. "You wouldn't wake up."

Annabeth sighed and nodded.

"I know." She mumbled. "I heard you. I just..." She shook her head. "I couldn't pull myself out of it."

Percy nodded, knowing exactly what that was like, before giving her a half-smile.

"Grover's coming in a minute." He said. He told her about the dream.

Annabeth smiled a little.

"That's good. We haven't seen him for ages."

Percy nodded, running the back of his hand down the back of her cheek. She smiled at him.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his eyebrows scrunching together with worry.

She nodded a little.

"I'm okay, Seaweed Brain." She mumbled. "You're still cute when you're worried."

Percy laughed a little, rolling out of bed, pulling on some jeans and a t-shirt, mussing his hair up in the mirror.

"Grover doesn't know, by the way." He told her. "I just want to see his face when he sees you."

* * *

"G-man!" Percy said, opening the door. Grover laughed, and pulled him into a hug. They hadn't seen each other in at least a year, Percy being busy with work, Grover being busy with the wild. It was hard work keeping up with a best friend who spent his life travelling. "It's been way too long!"

Grover grinned. He had changed a surprising amount since they had last seen each other. Grover had become a little more muscular. His hair was longer, and his horns didn't look like they could get much bigger. He adjusted his t-shirt with a smile.

"It really has." Grover said, smiling sadly. "Where's Annabeth? I can't believe I missed your wedding. I feel so bad. I just -"

Percy shrugged.

"Don't worry about it." He said, patting his shoulder. "We would've wanted you there too, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Annabeth's just getting changed, she'll be down in a few minutes."

"Hey Grover!" She called from upstairs. "I'll be two minutes!"

Grover and Percy laughed. Percy figured it would probably take two minutes for her to get down the stairs these days. Percy gestured to the living room, looking at Grover.

"Go and sit down, G-man. I'm gonna go make tea."

He nodded, and trotted into the living room. Percy chuckled to himself, anticipating the face that Grover would pull when he saw Annabeth. A pair of hands appeared beside him, reaching into the cupboard for some mugs, and kissing him on the cheek. He smiled at her, giving her a silent 'thank you' before making the tea.

"Have you been to see him yet?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shook her head, and Percy grinned.

"Good." He said. "I want to see his face when he sees you. Honestly, he's changed so much, too. It's his horns. They're like -" He put a hand over the top of his head to give her an impression of how long they are. Annabeth laughed, taking her mug and sipping from it. Percy planted a kiss on her cheek before grabbing the other two. He grinned, walking into the living room, Annabeth close behind him.

Annabeth smiled.

"Hey." She said, before she and Percy exchanged a glance, and burst out laughing at Grover's face. To say he looked shocked would be an understatement. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and then he joined in, laughing too. He hopped off the couch and glared at Percy.

"Why in Hades didn't you tell me?" He asked, although he was smiling.

Percy laughed again, settling down on the couch.

"I wanted to see your face."

Grover huffed, before smiling, and sitting back down. Annabeth curled up beside Percy, and he wrapped his arm around her.

"Honestly Grover," Percy said, with a smile. "What else did you expect us to do?"

He didn't have an answer to that. He sipped at his tea, and answered questions Percy and Annabeth asked about the wild and satyrs and Juniper, which instantly made his face light up.

"She's as beautiful as ever." He told them, and the smile on his face was so huge and so genuine Percy couldn't help but be delighted for him too. After all the quests Percy had dragged him on, he deserved a life as happy as this.

"What have you guys been doing?" He asked.

Annabeth groaned.

"We haven't stopped for the past four months. Percy's been at work, and I've been sorting out baby things, and then he comes home, makes dinner, and helps me, and then we sleep. Weekends are the only time we get a break, and that's only for a couple of hours."

Percy elbowed her a little.

"Your making it sound worse than it is." He said. "She'll be worth it."

Annabeth nodded and kissed his cheek.

"Of course." She said, smiling. She turned to Grover. "How long are you staying?"

"Just a couple of days," he said. "if that's alright?"

Annabeth smiled.

"It's fine! It'll be nice to have a bit of company. Percy's got work tomorrow."

Percy sighed, and downed his tea.

"Come on, Grover." He said. "We've moved stuff around since you were last here. I'll show you where your room is."

Grover followed him upstairs, pointing to a door right beside Percy and Annabeth's room.

"That used to be the spare room, right?"

Percy nodded, pushing the door open a little, to what was now the baby's room, sighing at the mess and incompleteness of it all. They had so little time, and so much to do. As always, Percy wondered whether they would get it done in time. He walked in, picking up baby clothes and stashing them neatly in the wardrobe, and opening a window, trying to get rid of the smell of paint. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"We've still got so much to do." He muttered, mainly to himself.

Grover placed a hairy hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"It doesn't look that way."

Percy almost laughed.

"We've got less than three weeks, so it literally could happen any time now, and look at the mess." He gestured to the room.

Grover laughed.

"Have you got everything you need?" He asked.

Percy nodded.

"Pretty much.

"So what's the problem?" Grover asked. "She's really not going to care how messy it is. She's just going to want food, sleep, love and diaper changes."

Percy sighed and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I know, I know." He mumbled. "I just told Annabeth it would be perfect, but it's not going to be, and I feel kinda bad for letting her down."

Grover laughed softly.

"You most certainly have not let her down." He smiled. "She loves you more than anything. Trust me, I'm a satyr."

Percy rolled his eyes at him, and Grover smiled sadly.

"You're going to be an awesome dad, Percy. Don't deny it."

Percy laughed.

"Thanks, Grover." He said. "I really hope so."

Grover smiled.

"Hope doesn't come into it. You _will_ be."

* * *

**I don't like this chapter much. Sorry guys.**


	6. Chapter 6

Percy smiled a little sadly as he heard Annabeth stomping down the stairs. It was taking its toll on her now, it really was. She was snappy, tearful, and in a constant bad mood, and all Percy could do was feed her curry and hope that the old wives tale about it inducing labour was true, because he was close to snapping right back at her. She was two days late now, and all Percy and Annabeth wanted was for her to make an appearance. The nerves seemed irrelevant in comparison to the backache and the hormones and the boredom and the waiting.

"Morning." Percy croaked, having only just gotten up himself.

Annabeth gave him a tired smile, and, as usual, dived straight for the cereal cupboard. Percy shook his head.

"Here," he said, gently, "I'll do this."

Annabeth glared at him.

"I can still make my own breakfast, Percy!" She snapped, before sighing guiltily, rubbing her eyes. "Sorry." She mumbled. "Thank you."

Percy sighed, and pulled her into a side-hug, since that was the only hug that worked for them these days. He kissed the top of her head, and held her for a while, closing his eyes, wishing it was always this nice. He could feel Annabeth's steady breaths on his shoulder, the baby wriggling around against him, Annabeth's arms tightly wrapped around the back of his neck, the snow falling outside. There was something so serene about it, so relaxing and peaceful. The reality of the situation was it was anything _but_ relaxing and peaceful.

The moment was interrupted by a monstrous stomach rumble, and a chuckle from Annabeth. Percy laughed too, and pulled away, kissing her softly.

"Are you sure you don't want the whole box?" Percy joked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"This kid has your appetite. It's not me."

Percy laughed, shaking his head a little, making her breakfast.

Annabeth smiled a little as she sat down. Percy had always been sweet, but in the past month, he had become even more gentle and loving and laid back, even with all the bad moods that she had been in. She knew she had been angry, and easily irritated, but Percy had put up with it, tolerated her bad moods. She was feeling fragile, but she knew he would never break her.

Percy appeared in front of her, setting the bowl of cereal in front of her with a smile, a pen and the notebook in his other hand. Annabeth shook her head, taking a bite of cereal.

"Not the notebook." She said. "Please, if you find something else for us to do, you will be doing it, I swear I'm not doing anything else."

Percy laughed, shaking his head.

"I was actually thinking names, Wise Girl." He said, with a grin. "I mean, she still doesn't have one. It's gonna suck when she turns up and has no name, don't you think?"

Annabeth nodded, thinking for a moment, before smirking.

"Honestly, she's kicking me like crazy. I am so close to giving her an awful name right now."

Percy smiled sympathetically, before laughing a little.

"I wouldn't allow that, I'm afraid."

Annabeth smiled, taking another bite of food, brushing her hands off and thinking, tapping her fingers on the table. She smiled.

"I like Piper, but it's already taken."

Percy laughed, spinning the pen around his fingers. Annabeth suddenly got a bad feeling it was Riptide.

"That is a pen, right?" She asked. "Not that sword of yours?"

Percy laughed, uncapping it.

"Just a pen." He said, smiling.

"I've always liked Isla." Annabeth told him. He smiled and nodded, writing it down in his pad.

"If I like it, it makes the notebook." He said. "Okay, shoot."

Annabeth laughed, and took the pen and the notebook off him. She smirked.

"Your turn."

Percy smiled.

"Paige." Annabeth nodded, and wrote it down, her writing significantly neater than Percy's scrawl.

They continued this game for around half an hour, ending up with quite a significant list of names. Percy smiled, and went through the list, highlighting his favourites, as did Annabeth with a different highlighter. Only three names were highlighted by both of them.

Annabeth sighed.

"Willow, Isla, and Acacia." Annabeth said.

Percy nodded.

"Awesome."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, picked up her bowl, and walked towards the kitchen, before stopping suddenly, grabbing onto the wall. Percy walked over quickly, taking the bowl off her, and putting it on the kitchen counter. He frowned a little.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, Percy." Annabeth said. His expression didn't change. "I've been getting them since about five this morning. They're not so bad just yet."

Percy sighed, pulling her into a hug.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He mumbled into her hair, kissing the top of her head.

Annabeth smiled, pulling away a little.

"I didn't really think about it." She shrugged. "They were so tiny that they didn't really seem important. It could still be _days_ yet, Percy."

Percy smirked a little.

"That one didn't look 'tiny' to me."

Annabeth sighed.

"Okay, fine. That one wasn't great."

Percy sighed, running the back of his hand along her cheek, kissing the end of her nose.

"Tell me if it gets worse, alright?" He said. "Not that I can do much, but -"

Annabeth cut him off with a peck on the lips, catching Percy by surprise. He grinned, a little giddy. Finally, it was time. Okay, so they still had the hurdle of getting her out, but he was probably going to become a father within around twenty-four hours, as long as things went okay. He glanced over at Annabeth, now sat on the couch, her feet up, looking down to her bump. Percy smiled, and crept over, lifting her feet so he could sit down, and putting them back on his lap. Annabeth smiled at him a little nervously, before looking out the window.

"The snow's really coming down." She mumbled, watching it tuck Manhattan into a white blanket.

Percy nodded, but inside, he was screaming. What if they had to leave suddenly? The traffic would be an absolute nightmare. Not to mention the ice on the roads. He silently prayed to Zeus, and the snow did slow down a little, although that could've been coincidental.

"It's nearly Christmas." Percy said, grinning. "I forgot."

Annabeth laughed.

"We've had more important things to be thinking about." She said. "It seems a little -" She winced, "- irrelevant at the moment. We might have to postpone Christmas this year. Go Christmas shopping in the boxing day sales?" Her voice was strained.

Percy nodded, although he was distracted. He was worried about his Wise Girl.

"Yeah." He said. "Sure. Hey, we've got some serious time to kill. Shall I shove on a movie?"

Annabeth grinned and nodded.

"You can read my mind."

Percy smiled, hopping off the couch and going through the film collection, holding up _finding Nemo. _Annabeth laughed, and Percy took that as a yes, putting the disc into the DVD player. He went through the drawer, grabbing a blanket and some chocolates with a wink. He sat on the couch, and Annabeth snuggled into his chest, kissing his cheek. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Thank you." Annabeth murmured.

Percy looked down at her quizzically.

"You've been really patient with me these past few months. I realise I've been pretty difficult recently. I mean, snapping at you this morning. Pretty ridiculous of me, huh?"

Percy smiled, shaking his head.

"Nah. I don't think it is. We've both been pretty stressed out. You're hormonal." He sighed. "You know, I've grown pretty fond of the bump. I'm going to miss it."

Annabeth chuckled softly.

"I hope you're not being ungrateful, Perseus." She joked. "You seem to forget who's in the bump."

Percy grinned, pressing play on the remote.

"I think _The Great Escape_ would have been more appropriate, giving the circumstances."

Annabeth gave him a gentle shove, although she was laughing. She looked up at him. She could tell he wasn't really watching the film. He was thinking. Worrying, to be more specific. She sighed, putting a reassuring hand on his chest.

"Are you nervous?"

He didn't meet her eyes, but said, "Totally." Before flushing anxiously and shuffling in his seat. "I don't think nervous really cuts it, actually."

"We're gonna be okay, Percy."

He nodded, smiling down at her.

"I know."

* * *

"I hate to say this, Wise Girl, but you look, (a) pretty tired, and (b)pretty rough." Percy said, crouching in front of the couch, so he was level with her face. He tucked a few hairs behind her ears, and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, trying not to look worried. She opened an eye, and gave him a small smile.

"I'm alright, Seaweed Brain." She mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks for letting me know how crap I look, though."

Percy laughed softly.

"Nah. I think you still look pretty hot for someone having a baby." He said, kissing the end of her nose. "It's half-eleven. Do you mind if I try and get a bit of sleep?"

Annabeth shook her head.

"I'm going to join you, I think." She said, stretching. Percy smirked, and picked her up, bridal style, and carried her up the stairs, placing her on the bed gently.

"My hero." She muttered with a sarcastic smile, grabbing the top of his t-shirt and pulling him down for a kiss. Percy smiled, and curled up beside her, snuggling under the covers, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her cheek.

"Wake me up if you need to." He mumbled, already drifting off.

Annabeth nodded slightly, drifting off. She woke up several times in the night, biting the inside of her cheeks to keep in her groans of pain. She didn't want to wake Percy up so soon – she knew he hadn't been sleeping well, either, and they were going to need all the sleep they could get.

It wasn't until about five when she woke him, although it was accidental. She snuggled further back into his chest, craving his warmth and comfort. She felt his arms tighten around her, and a soft kiss on the back of her neck. She took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"You alright, Wise Girl?" He mumbled, his voice muffled from sleep.

She shook her head microscopically – so little he could hardly notice. He sighed, and pulled her close to him. She smiled a little, falling in love with him a little deeper. He was so sweet it made her heart melt.

"I've been better, Seaweed Brain." She mumbled.

Percy laughed softly, reaching over to switch on the lamp, rubbing his eyes.

"What do you want to do?" He croaked, squinting from the sudden light.

She turned around so she was facing him, and Percy pecked her lips instinctively, making Annabeth smile.

"Call the hospital." She mumbled, looking down.

Percy nodded, rolling out of bed and shuffling down the stairs, jogging back up with the phone. He walked back in to find Annabeth, perched on the edge of the bed, eyes squinted shut. Percy ran a hand through his hair nervously. How in Hades was he supposed to help her? Gods, he was freaking out himself, and there was his beautiful Wise Girl, in pain, probably feeling pretty hopeless herself. He cursed to himself silently. She _needed _him. He crept over, gently sitting beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sorry." She muttered.

Percy frowned.

"What for?"

Annabeth sighed.

"I'm being pretty hopeless."

Percy laughed softly, rolling his eyes.

"Not at all." He smiled, and pressed the phone into her hand. "I don't really know what's going on. I think it's best you talk."

Annabeth smirked.

"Do you want me to explain it to you, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy shook his head.

"I'd rather remain oblivious, thanks." He laughed, shaking his head, pulling on some jeans. "I'm going to start the car up. Honestly, it's freezing out there." He pulled on a jumper, kissing her cheek. "And then, I'm going to tidy things up from yesterday, if that's okay. I'm not coming back with more stuff to do." He smiled. "I love you."

Annabeth smiled softly.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Percy Jackson?" She asked. Percy laughed. "I love you too."

Percy left the room with a wink.

* * *

"Annabeth, look at me." Percy said, sternly, but with all the love he could muster. "You've got to calm down. Screaming is getting you absolutely nowhere."

Annabeth glared at him, her grey eyes piercing into his green ones.

"Easy for you to say," she growled, puffing and panting.

Percy shook his head. It really wasn't. He felt like screaming too. He was terrified – doctors and nurses made him feel, at best, uncomfortable, and he was so _close_ to becoming a father, which was amazing, but Annabeth … seeing how exhausted she was was killing him. A tear slipped down his cheek.

"It's really not." he assured her, with a sad smile, wiping the tears away with the heel of his hand. "You've got this, Annabeth. Just remember who you are, and everything amazing you've ever done. And imagine all the other women who have managed to do this. Most of them wouldn't have even _dreamed_ about achieving what you have, so I _know_ you can do this. You're so close now, Wise Girl."

He looked at the doctor for confirmation, who nodded.

"Five, maybe ten minutes." He said.

Percy grinned, brushing the sweaty, tangled mess of hair behind her ears.

"I reckon you can do this in five. Lets get this over and done with, Wise Girl."

She nodded, but kept glaring at him.

"Pull yourself together then, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth grumbled. "You're about to become a father."

Percy nodded, wiping his eyes again, before taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly. She almost broke it as she let out another sound – somewhere between a grunt and a groan and a squeal, but certainly less hysterical than before.

"One more push, Annabeth." The doctor encouraged, before looking at Percy. "Want to take a look?"

Percy shook his head so violently that he almost cricked his neck, and Annabeth, despite everything, laughed weakly, before her face scrunched up yet again, and she bit her lip so hard she drew blood.

"I'm fine up here, thanks." Percy said, with a grimace of both pain from his hand and disgust from even beginning to imagine what it looked like further south. He concentrated on Annabeth's face, dutifully and tenderly brushing hairs from her face. She let out a final cry, before it was replaced by a shriller, more juvenile sounding one. Percy's heart stopped as she was placed on Annabeth's chest, still covered in gore, but she was _here_, after all this time. He started trembling, and kissed Annabeth's forehead, which was still beaded in sweat, but no longer had the furrows from scowling so much.

The next few minutes were a blur – Percy cut the cord, and the baby was taken away from them, to be weighed and checked. Percy looked at Annabeth, and she met his gaze, finding his green eyes watery and filled with so much love, Annabeth could hardly take it. She gave him a weak, tired smile, and he smiled back, helping her sit up.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice quiet.

Annabeth nodded.

"You?"

Percy raised his eyebrows as if he couldn't believe she was asking that. His eyes drifted to the corner, where they were taking care of his daughter.

"Is she alright?" He asked, raising his voice a little.

In answer, a nurse turned around, a fidgeting pink bundle in her arms. She placed her into Annabeth's arms with a grin. Percy immediately sat on the edge of the bed, to get a better look at her. Oh, gods, she was definitely a girl. Those eyes did _not_ belong to a boy – piercing green, but with long, thick, black eyelashes. Porcelain pink skin, beautiful rosy cheeks, tiny ringlets of blonde hair. Annabeth's nose. Percy's lips. He looked over at Annabeth, her eyes a little watery, and planted a kiss on her temple, feeling tears drip down his cheeks (again) making both him and Annabeth chuckle. He looked back at the baby in her arms, and sighed, too scared to touch her.

"She's beautiful." He murmured, his voice cracking. "I love you." He whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. "My beautiful, amazing, Wise Girl."

Annabeth smiled, and tilted his face towards her, kissing him lightly.

"I love you too, Seaweed Brain." She said. "What are we calling her?"

Percy almost laughed.

"After all that, I think I'm going to leave that decision to you." He smiled. "That was pretty dam intense."

Annabeth laughed gently.

"Yeah, but Isla was so worth it." She whispered, grinning up at Percy. "Isla Acacia Jackson."

Percy smiled.

"Perfect." he choked, wiping his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

"Well, good morning, sunshine." Percy murmured, as Isla's beautiful green eyes fluttered open. Annabeth had fallen asleep, and Percy, admittedly, was exhausted too, but didn't want to waste a second with his little girl. A ghost of a smile graced his lips, and he kissed her forehead gently. "Gods," he whispered, under his breath, "aren't you gorgeous?" Her hand curled around Percy's little finger, and she stared up at him curiously. He and Annabeth had managed to wrestle her into a pink onesie and hat a few hours ago, and, now she was wearing something that hadn't come from a hospital, that he and Annabeth had brought, he finally grasped that she was his. "We are going to have so much fun," He promised her, with a smile, "I'm going to teach you how to swim, and we're going to go to the beach and I'll help you collect shells and we can talk to some hippocampi together. And then, when you're a little older, you can drag me around shops for as long as you like and I'll spend ridiculous amounts of money on you, but I won't even mind because I'd do anything for you." He laughed to himself, shaking his head a little. "And no boyfriends until you're at _least_ sixteen. No matter how much they chase after you, which they will."

Her eyes started to flutter shut again, and Percy sighed contentedly. This 'Dad' thing wasn't so bad.

"D'you think I could have my finger back?" He whispered, but was only answered by soft, tiny snores that made his heart swell. "What did I do to deserve you?" He looked up at Annabeth, sleeping soundly in the hospital bed. "And your mother. Isn't she amazing, huh?"

He sighed, realising he was talking to a sleeping baby, and his eyes drifted up to Annabeth, whose lips were curled up into a tiny smile. Percy chuckled, flushing, a little embarrassed.

"Annabeth, pretending to be asleep is not one of your many talents, I'm afraid."

Her smile got a little wider, and she opened a grey eye, the edges crinkling up as she smiled. Shuffling backwards, she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"How you feeling?" Percy asked, his voice barely a whisper, for fear he would wake the bundle in his arms.

"I'm pretty good." She said, before sighing. "I just want to go home."

Percy yawned, and nodded in agreement.

"So do I." He admitted. "How did you sleep?"

"Really well, actually. I guess I was tired."

Percy scoffed.

"I'm really not surprised, after all that." He looked down at the baby in his arms. "Isla's pretty tired too, by the looks of it."

Annabeth grinned, running the back of her hand across her cheek.

"Gods, Percy." She mumbled. "She's you all over." She looked up at Percy with a smirk. "She looks like a troublemaker."

Percy laughed quietly.

"She wouldn't be my daughter if she wasn't." _My Daughter_. The words felt foreign on his tongue, but so right. So perfect. "I guess we're lucky, too, since I reckon she's inherited my unhealthy love of sleep. Well, before ..." He stopped short, not wanting to bring up such an evil place on such a perfect day.

Annabeth smiled and nodded. She had heard the conversation, although it was pretty one-sided, between him and Isla, and it had really warmed her heart, made her day a little better. She ran a hand through his hair.

"You'll regret that promise of a shopping trip." She told him, smirking.

Percy laughed.

"Nah." He said, smiling gently at the baby in his arms. "I'd do anything if it meant keeping her happy." He smirked. "She probably won't even like shopping, anyway."

Annabeth sighed contentedly, and shuffled over on the bed, patting the space beside her. Percy smiled, and sat beside her, manoeuvring his arm so it was around Annabeth's shoulders, the other supporting the baby asleep on his chest. Annabeth rested her head on his shoulder, tilting his head towards her, kissing him.

"Thank you." She murmured. "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

Percy smirked.

"Most certainly not. You know, Annabeth, you're supposed to be a Wise Girl. For all this to happen, someone has to impregnate you in the first place."

Annabeth did something between laughing and groaning in disgust.

"You know what I mean, Percy."

His smirk softened into a ghost of a smile, his expression filled with absolute love and adoration.

"And I disagree." He looked at her. "This is going to sound corny, but you truly are amazing, do you know that? I have looked up to you since the day I met you, and, especially now, I'm always going to admire you. And if anyone meets you and doesn't, they have a serious problem. Everything you've done in twenty-three years most people don't achieve in a lifetime. I just want you to know that every time I wake up in the morning I realise how _lucky_ I am to have you in my life. And now you've given me this little sweetheart … I just really, really love you, Annabeth. And I know that you know that but I don't think you realise just how much. Honestly, just watching everything happen this morning was hard enough for me. I am one–hundred percent sure that I, even if I had the required organs, couldn't have done it. No way. I am _so_ proud of you, Annabeth." He chuckled to himself softly. "Gods, that _was_ corny."

A high-pitched squeal came from Isla, followed by a shrill cry.

"Hey," he whispered. "I'm sorry, baby. Did I wake you up?" He removed his other arm from Annabeth's shoulders, and held Isla close to him, bouncing her up and down a little. "Shhh." He whispered, and the crying stopped, but she was still looking pretty upset. He looked at Annabeth. "I think she's hungry."

Annabeth nodded, and Percy placed her in Annabeth's arms, instantly making her cry. Percy smiled.

"Aw, I know I'm your favourite," he said, laughing at Annabeth's glare, "but I've been hogging you a bit anyway"

She _was_ hungry, it turned out. Annabeth looked at him in disbelief.

"Percy, I think you're the baby whisperer." She smiled. "Seriously, you get her to stop crying in like, two minutes, and you pretty much read her mind."

Percy laughed.

"Lucky guess?"

Annabeth sighed, looking down at Isla.

"She's got your appetite, too."

Percy smiled.

"She's lucky she's so cute. I mean, I don't share your boobs with just anybody. Thank gods it's only temporary."

Annabeth glared at him, before laughing, unable to hold it in.

"Never change, Percy. Promise me." She said. "Seriously, not many guys would say something so sweet, and then give some dirty joke five minutes after. You're such an idiot but you're so lovely."

Percy laughed.

"Oh, I wasn't joking."

Annabeth sighed, wishing she had an extra arms so she could slap him.

"I'm mentally slapping your arm right now." She told him, with a smirk.

"Ouch." Percy groaned, feigning a wince.

Annabeth smiled at him.

"Oh, very convincing."

* * *

"Do you mind if I call Mom?" Percy asked, walking through the front door after Annabeth. They had finally been allowed to come home, and it was the best feeling in the world. Isla was one-hundred percent and entirely theirs now there were no nurses to watch over them and make sure they were doing the right thing. He smiled. "I mean, I'll put it on loudspeaker so you can laugh at the squealing that is likely to take place."

Annabeth laughed and nodded, sitting down on the couch, careful not to wake the sleeping bundle in her arms. Percy grinned, dumping their bag by the front door and grabbing the phone, and sitting beside them, dialling his Mom's number.

"Hi Percy." Percy smiled at the sound of his Mom's voice. He hadn't seen her for a while, since he had been so busy.

"Hey." He glanced over at Annabeth, who was smiling too. "I... uh... Annabeth had the baby." He felt tears pricking his eyes again, and he laughed at himself, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh my gods!" Sally squealed from the end of the phone, making Percy and Annabeth laugh. "How are they? Did everything go alright? What's she called?"

"We're all fine." Annabeth assured her, laughing. "Her name's Isla Acacia Jackson." She laughed at Percy's tears, and he passed the phone to her, hardly able to speak. "Percy's crying again. We're back home now, anyway, so you can come and meet her if you want, although she really hasn't done much other than sleep."

"We'll be down in ten minutes." She told her. "Tell Percy to pull himself together."

Percy laughed softly.

"I'm trying." He choked.

Sally sighed.

"Alright. I'll see you guys in a bit."

She hung up, and Annabeth looked at Percy, laughing. She raised her eyebrows at him. Percy smiled and wiped his eyes.

"Oh, shut up." He muttered, contradicted by the smile on his face, his arm snaking around Annabeth's shoulders, the other adjusting Isla's blanket. He sighed, enjoying the silence, listening to the gentle breaths from the baby in Annabeth's arms. Annabeth rested her head on his shoulder, smiling to herself.

"It feels weird." She mumbled.

"What?" Percy asked.

"To not be rushing around. Not worrying. It's nice." She said, quietly.

Percy laughed softly, running the back of his hand across the baby's cheek.

"So what do we do now?" He asked.

Annabeth kissed his cheek.

"Wait for your Mom and Paul to meet Isla. Hope she stays asleep for a few more hours. Sleep."

Percy rubbed his eyes, yawning.

"Sleep sounds amazing right now."

Annabeth sighed.

"Didn't you -"

They were interrupted when the front door opened, and the sound of Sally's and Paul's voices filled the apartment, and then the shrill cries of Isla. Percy gestured for Annabeth to hand her over, which she did, knowing that Percy was better calming her down anyway.

"Go and say hi." He said, with a smile. "I know you want to. I'll be with you in a minute. I've got this."

Annabeth smiled, and pecked his lips.

"You'll have to teach me how you do that, baby whisperer." She smiled. "I'll make you some tea."

Percy nodded his thanks, and Annabeth left the room, closing the door behind her, muffling the gushes and laughs from his Mom and Paul. He looked at the squealing Isla in his arms, unable to hold back his smile.

"Yes, I know you've got your mothers lungs. That truly is lovely, but Mom and Paul want to meet you now, and we don't want to make bad first impressions, do we?" He asked her, in a soothing voice, holding her close to his chest. She calmed down a little, and Percy laughed at the look on her face. "Oh, don't be so grumpy. I know it's cold out here, but trust me, it's an awful lot nicer." He walked over to the window. Although the sun was setting, you could still see the snow. He smiled suddenly feeling Christmassy. He bounced her up and down a little, and the cries turned into little giggles. "That's better." He whispered to her, unaware of the crowd watching from the doorway behind him. He sighed, looking out to the snow.

"Hi Percy." A voice said, from behind, and he spun around, a wide grin on his face.

"Mom." He smiled quizzically. "How long have you been there?"

Sally smiled.

"Long enough."

Percy sighed, rolling his eyes, and walked over to her, planting a kiss on her cheek. Although she wasn't paying much attention to him. Percy smiled down at the baby in his arms.

"She's gorgeous, huh?"

Sally nodded in agreement, a tear dripping from her eye.

"Beautiful. Can I...?"

Percy smiled and nodded, gently placing her into his mother's arms, his eyes meeting Annabeth's. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard at all.


	8. Chapter 8

Percy stumbled down the dark corridor, blindly walking towards the light in Isla's room. She had been around for the best part of seven weeks, and he had never been happier. Granted, he was beyond tired. Looking after his family and working, with test papers to mark on top of that was very hard work, but he could also see how tired Annabeth was. Her face still glowed with happiness, but the tired shadows under her eyes told a different story. She was past exhausted. Percy would constantly come home to her splayed out on the couch, Isla still in an arm, almost asleep.

He stood in the doorway, watching them. Annabeth in Percy's t-shirt, her bedhead huge and puffy. The way she looked at Isla as if she was the most precious thing in the world, which, to them, she was, of course. But Isla wouldn't stop crying (She had inherited Annabeth's temper, as well as her lungs) making Annabeth sigh tiredly. Percy placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and Annabeth turned around, smiling tiredly.

"Here," He gently took Isla out of Annabeth's arms. "I'll take night shift for tonight. Get some sleep."

Annabeth sighed, tempted to let him.

"Are you sure? You've got work tomorrow, and -" Annabeth wasn't going back to work for another ten weeks, but keeping the house relatively clean and loving and spending time with Isla was taxing enough. Percy nodded insistently, kissing her cheek.

Percy smiled a tired, crooked smile.

"Of course." He said, voice still thick with sleep. "Any time spent with Isla is time well spent." He gave her a gentle push out of the room. "Go on. Go and get some sleep."

Annabeth smiled gratefully, giving Percy a gentle kiss on the lips, and smiling down at Isla, stroking the hair out of her face lovingly, with a smile so sweet Percy's knees almost buckled. She gave him a little wave, and crept back to bed. Percy sighed at Isla, who was still crying in his arms, and crept down the stairs, bouncing her up and down in an attempt to calm her down. Her cries faded into tiny squeaks of protest every few seconds, and Percy exhaled with relief.

He padded towards the kitchen, before he heard rustling, and footsteps. He stopped, instinctively reaching for Riptide in his pocket. He looked down at Isla, knowing if worst came to worst it would be difficult to fight with a baby in his arm. But, he knew Annabeth would hear if things _did_ get difficult, and Isla was very hungry indeed, so he decided to risk it. He crept in, and saw the silhouette of... _something_. He searched the wall for the light switch, and jumped when he saw his father, leaning against the counter.

Percy laughed. He should've known.

"Dad... hi." He looked down at himself in his pyjamas, sighing, rubbing the back of his neck.

Poseidon smiled.

"Hi Percy."

Isla saw this as an opportunity to burst into tears again, and Percy smiled apologetically. He held her close to him, kissing the side of her head.

"I know baby, I know. I'm on it." He whispered. "Shhh."

Poseidon waved it off, gesturing for Percy to pass Isla over. He did, and already missed her being in his arms. He opened the fridge door, and put a bottle in the microwave. Percy turned around to find his father cooing over Isla, tickling her, smiling, touching each of her tiny fingers. Percy couldn't help but grin as he watched. Poseidon smiled up at him, before sighing.

"You look exhausted, Percy." He said.

Percy shrugged.

"I'm alright." He smiled lovingly down at Isla. "It was in the job description. She's a pretty good sleeper, thankfully." He sighed guiltily. "I'm sorry I didn't even contact you. I just... we've been so busy, and It just floated over my mind."

Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"It's fine." He smiled. "I can see you've got your hands full. She's really beautiful, Percy. She looks a lot like you."

Percy grinned, ruffling her curls, earning a squirm of protest. He rolled his eyes, getting the milk from the microwave, gesturing for Poseidon to pass her back, which he did.

"I know. I can see a lot of Annabeth, though, too." He smiled and laughed at her, drinking the milk like she would never eat again. It was just then he realised how much she _was_ like him, even at this age. "She eats like me, too. Like a satyr."

Poseidon smiled, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek, not even earning a glance from her. The food had gotten her total, unconditional attention. Percy smiled. Just like him.

"Well, that's apparent." He whispered, taking the empty milk bottle from Percy's hand and cleaning it with just a touch. Percy smiled a thanks. "What's her name?"

Percy watched her drift off again, her beautiful eyes fluttering softly, her lips parting to take slow, gentle breaths. Percy couldn't keep his eyes off her, and he suspected he would have to live with that for the rest of his life. He kissed her forehead lovingly, pulling her hat down a little tighter – even he was starting to get cold.

"Isla Acacia Jackson."

Poseidon grinned.

"That's beautiful." He smiled. "It suits her. Whose idea was that?"

Percy nodded in agreement.

"Isla was Annabeth's idea. Acacia mine. But it was Annabeth who put them together." He sighed and shook his head. "Gods, I never would've thought of doing that."

Poseidon laughed – a real, hearty laugh which sounded so _real_ and human it made Percy smile a little. He looked at his father – the weathered hands, the smile lines around his eyes – it was almost like looking in the mirror. He grinned, his voice lowering into a whisper.

"We could almost pass as the same age these days." Percy said, laughing a little. Percy was even a little taller than his dad (When he was in human form).

Poseidon smiled sadly. That's when it all goes down hill. The one thing he hated about being a god – the mortal ones you love slip away from you in what feels like a blink, but in reality ninety years have passed, which, he forgets, is a very long time for a mortal. He feigned a laugh and a smile, but Percy frowned, realising something was up.

"Dad?" He whispered.

Poseidon sighed.

"Time goes too quick for you mortals." He grumbled. "Us gods can't keep up. Last time I checked you were almost killing yourself and being reckless, blowing up Mount , just because you had received a kiss from Annabeth and you wanted to keep her safe."

Percy blushed, but laughed.

"I was actually trying to keep her safe before that." He corrected.

Poseidon sighed.

"The point is – next time I look you'll be sixty, and then I'll look again and you'll be gone."

Percy looked down at his bare feet. He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Dad, I'm only twenty-four." He grinned. "I'm not going anywhere just yet. Besides, I'm planning on leaving a few people behind."

He looked down at Isla purposefully, and Poseidon smiled.

"You're right." He said, winking. "As always. Look, I need to go. Take care of yourself– and everyone else. Tell Annabeth hello for me." Percy nodded, suddenly swallowed by exhaustion. "And Percy – you'll always be my favourite son."

Percy laughed, and The Sea God disappeared in a waft of sea air.

* * *

"You were ages." Annabeth grumbled, tiredly. "The bed got cold."

Percy chuckled, wrapping his arms around her sleepily, closing his eyes.

"Sorry." He croaked. "Surprise visitor."

Annabeth turned over, looking at him quizzically. Percy opened an eye, and smiled, stroking her arm reassuringly.

"My dad says hi."

Annabeth frowned.

"Your dad?"

Percy rolled the one eye that was open.

"Yeah – you know. One of the big three, god of the seas, horses, hur -"

Annabeth covered his mouth with her hand.

"I get it Percy. Goodnight."

He didn't respond. He was already asleep.

* * *

**This is a disappointment, I know. Sorry.**


	9. Chapter 9

Percy came home from work with a small smile, closing the door quietly behind him, silently hanging up his coat. He stood in the living room doorway, watching Annabeth with Isla, unable to stop the grin cracking across his face, unable to help his heart from melting.

She was sat on the couch, Isla in her arms, tickling her feet, earning these sweet little giggles from her that sent Percy's heart swelling with love. And then he looked at Annabeth, her grey eyes sparkling, a beautiful grin spreading across her face. Although she was wearing sweatpants, and old camp t-shirt and a hoodie, her hair hastily tied into a ponytail, bags the size of trucks under her eyes, Percy never thought she looked more beautiful. She pulled Isla's hat down, laughing at her grumpy expression.

"You look like your dad when you do that, Isla." She grinned. "I wouldn't if I were you, baby." She sighed. "Don't look at me like that... okay, fine. He's handsome. But you're a lady, no matter how little you are. Ladies _aren't_ handsome."

Percy couldn't help it then. He laughed, and Annabeth looked up, before laughing too, shaking her head.

"She's been in a right mard today." She complained, although she was still smiling. "When did you get back?"

Percy checked his watch.

"A couple of minutes ago." He grinned, loosening his tie and sitting down beside her. "And why is that, Isla Jackson?" He asked, and Annabeth gently placed her into his arms. She only woke up once or twice in the night now, and, although they were still tired, things were starting to feel a little easier. Percy grinned, holding her above his head and blowing raspberries on her stomach, smothering her face in sloppy kisses, despite her faces of disgusted protest.

"Oh, someone _is_ grumpy." He held her close to him, winking at Annabeth. "She missed her Daddy, that's all."

Annabeth smiled, and pecked his lips.

"Well, so did I." She grinned, kissing him again. Percy chuckled, kissing her properly, earning squeals of protest from Isla. He smiled down at her, shaking his head.

"Right, sweetheart." He said, sitting her on his lap. "Who votes Mommy should go and chill out for a while whilst Daddy cooks dinner and does a bit of tidying?"

Percy lifted her hand up gently, and he lifted up his own. Annabeth rolled her eyes, sighing, kissing each of their foreheads, not even bothering to argue.

"Fine." She said. "I'm going to take a bath." She left the room, before walking back to the doorframe, smiling. "I love you guys."

Percy grinned.

"I speak for both of us when I say 'I love you too'."

Annabeth laughed softly, taking off up the stairs to have her bath.

Percy smiled, standing up, looking at Isla.

"How do you feel about helping me?" Isla squirmed in protest. "Thought so." Percy said, gently placing her in her car seat, carrying it over to the kitchen table, rustling up some dinner, keeping one eye on her. He wished he could give her his total and undivided attention all the time, but he couldn't. He was just too busy.

He did all the housework which needed doing (except the washing. Annabeth had banned him from that when he shrunk her jumper years ago) keeping his eye on Isla, who was kicking her feet around contentedly, with that sweet little smile on her face. When he finally finished, he couldn't help but grin, and take Isla into his arms tickling her softly, sitting on the couch, cradling her in his arms.

Unbeknown to Percy, Annabeth sat at the bottom of the stairs, watching him through the banister, smiling at the faint grin gracing itself across his lips. She knew he was going to be an amazing dad, but she had never expected anything as brilliant and as sweet as this. It seemed that all he had to do was touch her, and Isla would quieten down, smile, or giggle. She was barely five months old, and she was a daddy's girl. Already.

She was about to join him, when an elegant hand appeared on her shoulder. Annabeth turned around slowly, and was met by a familiar smile.

"Annabeth." Athena said, a ghost of a smile appearing.

Annabeth smiled, and placed a finger to her lips, not wanting to alert Percy. She gestured for Athena to look, which she did.

"Look at them, Mom." Annabeth said, her voice barely a whisper. "Listen. I know Percy's pretty... uh... immature, I guess. And I know you're really not his biggest fan and you think he's trouble and everything else, but I just want you to know just _why_ I love him so much. Okay, I guess you know he's a teacher, right? He came home from work today, after marking a bunch of papers at school, insisting that I had a break, 'cause I'm pretty tired. He's done all the housework, whilst watching Isla. I slept through her cries last night, too, so he was up with her each time." Annabeth sighed guiltily. "And I guess I don't need to tell you what an amazing dad he is. All you have to do is watch him with her."

Athena's smile faded into a ghost. She looked at Annabeth, at the beautiful young mother she had grown to be, and, without meaning to, felt a spark of pride light up within her. So maybe she married one of old Barnacle Beard's brood, but, no matter how much Athena hated to admit it, Perseus Jackson was a good man – a very likeable character. He had guts, and courage. Athena liked that. He had fallen into the depths of Tartarus for Annabeth. Of course he loved her. And of course Annabeth loved him. The goddess suddenly realised how much Annabeth's happiness mattered to her, and she smiled at her daughter.

"I know." She said, softly, before snorting softly. "I may be the wisdom goddess, but even I make mistakes. He's a good man, Annabeth. And I see that now. I don't like him much, but I have no doubt that he's go to the ends of the earth for you."

Annabeth sighed, grinning. She didn't doubt that, either.

"Hey, come and meet Isla."

Athena nodded, quietly walking down the remaining stairs behind Annabeth.

"Hey, Percy. We've got a surprise visitor." She said, smiling, but whispered jokingly, "please don't drown her. I'll explain later."

Percy chuckled softly, looking behind him with a smile. As soon as he saw her, the smile turned feigned, but anyone who didn't really know him wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"Lady Athena." He said. "Come to meet Isla?"

Athena rolled her eyes as Percy stood up.

"Of course, Perseus Jackson. Did you, perhaps, think I had come to see you?"

Percy laughed, placing Isla in her arms, and Athena smiled, stroking the baby's blonde curls. Percy sat back down, Annabeth beside him, curling up into his side. Percy smiled down at her a little, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks for tidying up." She whispered.

"No worries." Percy whispered back.

Athena sat down on a chair opposite, still cradling Isla in her arms.

"She's beautiful." Athena sighed. "She looks like you, Percy."

Percy blushed a little, but Annabeth smiled, kissing his cheek.

"I know." Annabeth said, sighing contentedly. Percy disappeared into the kitchen. "She's like him anyway, already. She does these things that remind me of him so much it's scary. She's going to be a troublemaker." Annabeth smiled a half-smile. "There's no doubt about it."

Athena sighed, but smiled.

"I can see that. Just... try to keep her under control."

Annabeth laughed.

"I'll do my best."

Athena stood, gently placing Isla into Annabeth's arms, where she settled again, snuggling into her chest with a tiny sigh.

"I'll be going now." Athena smiled, stroking the baby's hair one last time. "I'll see you soon, Annabeth."

* * *

Percy sat at the table, opposite Annabeth, Isla fast asleep in a car seat on the floor beside them. They made small talk, before Percy sighed.

"What was that all about?"

Annabeth smiled.

"She just wanted to see Isla." She glanced down at the baby. "I don't blame her." Percy grinned. "Anyway, she doesn't think you're all that bad."

Percy laughed, taking a sip from his tea.

"Okay." He smiled down at Isla. "Gods, she never stops sleeping, does she?"

"Be thankful. We're lucky, you know. According to my dad, I hardly ever slept."

Percy laughed.

"I find that hard to believe." Annabeth slapped his arm from across the table. "Okay, okay. Anyway, we're lucky to have _her_. Period." He sighed. "I mean, when we bought this place together, four years ago, did you ever think we'd be doing this?"

Annabeth shook her head.

"No." She said, softly. "Gods, Percy. I know I was only nineteen and everything, but I was beginning to wonder when you were going to ask me to marry you." She laughed to herself. "Like, two weeks before you did, I even considered asking you myself."

Percy blushed guiltily.

"Sorry." He smiled guiltily. "I did in the end, anyway. I was sure I wanted to, I just didn't want to rush into things, you know? I mean, we're pretty young to have actually had Isla and like, _planned _ to."

Annabeth nodded.

"I know, Percy. I know." She grinned. "You know, I wouldn't change it for the world."

Percy nodded in agreement.

"Me neither."

* * *

**Gods, I don't like this one much either.**

**Anyway, this is nowhere near finished, but I have this idea for a sequel in my head and might start typing it up soon and juggling this. _And_ I've got my other story to finish, and I start school again soon. And I'm going into year ten, so my time will be consumed with stuff for GCSE's and homework and other shizz, so I won't be updating as often as I am now – maybe every other day? I don't know. I'll see how much work I've got.**

**Okay, thanks, bye.**


	10. Chapter 10

Annabeth awoke to her two favourite people in the world. Percy, lay in his stupid Batman pyjamas, supporting Isla, who was sat up on his chest, staring down at him intently, her mouth opening into a grin and a giggle as Percy pulled stupid faces at her. Now seven months old, she slept through the night, so Percy and Annabeth were a lot less tired, and things were fun and easy and they found themselves laughing and messing around again, and it felt amazing.

Annabeth lay on her side, feeling Percy glance at her. The scary thing was – she knew she would do it again. She _wanted_ to do it again. She loved Isla more than anything, and she wanted to be able to love more people in the same way. She sighed softly, reaching a hand up to run her fingers through Isla's blonde curls.

"And the Sleeping Beauty awakes." Percy mumbled, glancing down at her, wearing a sexy, sarcastic half-smile. Annabeth struggled to notice anything else, but laughed.

"How long have you been awake for?" Annabeth asked, her voice a little croaky.

Percy shrugged.

"A couple of hours." He smiled down at Annabeth. "I don't like lie-ins that much anymore, weirdly."

Annabeth laughed, and Isla looked at her, and grinned a wide, toothless grin which made Annabeth laugh again. She took her tiny hand.

"Gods," Percy smiled, "she's beautiful, huh?"

Annabeth nodded. Not a day went by where both she and Percy were stunned at how something so pretty could come from the two of them. She seemed so delicate, so tiny, and Annabeth knew that she and Percy were anything but.

"Very."

Percy grinned.

"Hey, Isla." He said, and she turned her head to face him, a quizzical look on her face. "Can you say 'daddy' for me?"

She looked at him, and Percy saw an expression on her face that she looked so startlingly _Annabeth_ he could hardly contain a gasp. She looked like she was trying to figure something out – the way her brow furrowed into a frown, her tiny lips moulded into a pout, like she was trying to think how she was going to go about this. She looked over at Annabeth, and then back at Percy, her eyes narrowing.

"Dad-dy." She said, slowly, unsurely. Percy grinned. He looked over at Annabeth. "Did you _hear_ that? She's a Wise Girl."

Annabeth laughed, ruffling her daughter's hair.

"She's a clever girlie."

Percy laughed.

"I thought we could take her for a swim today maybe?"

Annabeth grinned.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Alright."

* * *

Percy stood, a couple of metres away from Annabeth, facing her, in waist-deep water, Isla in his arms, tickling her, gently splashing her with the water, earning a series of delighted giggles. Annabeth watched him as he smiled. Gods, she couldn't take her eyes off him. He still had his gorgeous abs, even after all this time. Percy looked up at her, winking.

"Checking me out, Wise Girl?"

Annabeth snorted, although it was one hundred percent true. Percy raised his eyebrows, laughing.

"Not too bad yourself." He grinned. "Not bad at all. I like your hair like that."

Annabeth laughed. She had thrown it into a bun before she got in the pool, and the idea of Percy finding that attractive was a mystery to her. She blushed a little.

"Stop flirting, Percy." She nodded at Isla. "We're supposed to be teaching her how to swim."

He smiled, rolling his eyes, crouching down in the water.

"Ready?" He asked Annabeth.

She smiled, and Isla started struggling in Percy's arms, trying to get to her. Percy held her out, pushing her forward a little towards Annabeth, readying his connection with the water, just in case something happened. When she began to sink, Percy interpreted the water to keep her afloat.

She picked up swimming with ease. It only took a couple of goes, and she did it for herself a few times, obviously inheriting Percy's love for water.

After a while, Percy held out his hand for Annabeth, wading down to shallower waters, and sitting down, his back against the pool wall, the water halfway up his chest. He found himself watching a family, splashing about, throwing their kids into the water and laughing, the kids giggling. He looked down at Isla, and sighed, suddenly realising how much she had grown. She was seven months old. Gods, she had said her first _word_ that morning.

He looked at Annabeth, and smiled when he found she was doing the same thing, laughing as the kids all tackled the dad, pushing him into the water.

"I love you." Percy said, smiling softly, totally out of the blue.

Annabeth looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I love you too." She said. "What brought that on?"

Percy shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know." He laughed. "I'm just happy. I just feel like a normal guy, and it's nice, you know?"

She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You'll never be a normal guy Percy." She joked, and he rolled his eyes. "I get what you mean though. It's nice. I think we might finally have the peace we deserve."

Percy nodded, pulling Isla close to him, kissing the side of her head. It was quiet for a while, with Isla falling asleep on his chest.

"Would you have more?" He asked, quietly.

"More what?"

Percy jerked his head towards Isla, and Annabeth smiled.

"Yeah." She said, without hesitating. "Would you?"

Percy laughed. Stupid question.

"Yeah. ' Course I would. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

"What, now?" She asked, raising her eyebrows

Percy shrugged.

"Well," he sighed, "Isla's grown up a lot. Actually, it's scary." He kissed the baby's head. "There's no reason why we can't. But I'm willing to wait, too. I get that it sucks pretty bad."

Annabeth grinned up at him, before resting her head on his shoulder.

"It's alright. I kind of liked it. I got spoilt by you." Percy laughed, and Annabeth pointed to the family they had just been watching. "It would be nice to be like that, don't you think? I actually think the sooner the better – if they're around the same age, they actually like, _get on_ most of the time."

Percy glanced over at her, his arms beginning to ache. He half-smiled.

"Are you serious?"

Annabeth nodded.

"Of course, Seaweed Brain."

Percy grinned, and kissed her cheek. Annabeth sighed.

"No way in Hades are we having any more than three, got it, Jackson?"

Percy laughed.

"Got it."

* * *

Annabeth kicked off her shoes, sitting on the grass outside, tilting her head back, closing her eyes. She could smell the sea from where she was, and the yellow sun warmed her skin. She loved summer evenings. The hazy light. The air fresh and warm and salty. She looked up to the blue sky, smiling. Percy was right – she felt normal for once. Everything just felt right.

Without Annabeth even noticing, Percy walked down the garden, and plonked himself down beside Annabeth, smiling softly.

"She's absolutely exhausted, bless her." He looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes with his hands. "Went straight to sleep."

Annabeth lay back on the grass, sighing softly.

"How will we hear her?" She asked.

Percy picked up the baby monitor and waved it in her face. She frowned.

"Does it even work out here, Seaweed Brain?"

He held it to his ear, and smiled, before laughing.

"Yeah." He said, softly, his voice filled with love. "She's snoring."

He passed it to Annabeth, and she listened, before laughing. Percy lay on his front beside her, picking at the grass, until Annabeth cupped her hand on his cheek, smiling. Percy looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?" He asked, a sarcastic smile gracing his lips.

She smiled.

"You're a perfect dad, Percy Jackson."

He snorted.

"No, seriously." She said, and smiled. "Isla loves you to pieces. You're brilliant with her. I swear, you're amazing."

He sighed, rolling onto his back.

"Not perfect, Annabeth. I try my best." He smiled. "You win the perfect award for this one."

Annabeth shoved him with her arm.

"Just take the compliment, Percy. Holy Zeus."

He rolled onto his side, pressing his lips against hers, kissing her softly. She smiled into it (they hadn't been able to do this for months) and cupped his cheek, rolling over so she was above him. His hands wondered to the back of her neck, pulling her down closer, before they traced down her backbone, making her sigh. He smiled winningly, and her hand found it's way to the end of his t-shirt, sliding under it. She grinned as Percy's breath caught, capturing him in another kiss. He knotted his hand in her hair, and sighed, realising they were getting carried away.

"We should -" A cry came from the baby monitor interrupted them, "stop," Percy finished, giving her a final peck on the nose, and smiling, raising his eyebrows. "We'll continue this later." He said, with a smirk, getting up, and jogging into the house. Annabeth sighed.

"Seaweed Brain." She muttered.

* * *

**I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG.**

**I swear, I don't know where the time goes. This is kind of a bad chapter too, I think? Obviously, that's up to you guys. Thanks so much for the follows and reviews and favourites – keep them coming – I'm almost up to 100 followers now and that means so much.**

**Also, I'm working on the sequel too now, so keep an eye out for it when I've finished this. You might get a preview at some point, who knows? I'll have to think about it.**

**Thank you very much! (does anyone actually read A/Ns?)**


	11. Chapter 11

It was a bad morning.

Annabeth, Percy, and Isla lay sound asleep in their beds. Percy's arm was wrapped around Annabeth's waist tightly, his fingers loosely laced with hers. He snored softly into her hair, drooling a little. Annabeth sighed in her sleep, turning over and snuggling into Percy's chest.

The sun was just beginning to rise, and it was silent. Until there was a loud crash, and a roar. Percy shot up, sitting bolt upright, Annabeth's eyes shot open.

"What was that?" She asked, her drowsiness melting away instantly as Percy hopped out of bed, moving the curtain to look out of the window.

"Not good." He mumbled to himself. "Not good at all."

Annabeth joined him, standing on her tiptoes, looking over his shoulder.

"We've got company." Percy muttered, moving away from the window so Annabeth could see, grabbing Riptide from his dresser, and pulling some armour from the wardrobe. He sighed. "Well, I honestly didn't think we'd be seeing Dr. Thorn again. Man, I hate that Manticore. The douche pulled you off a cliff."

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, until there was a insistent squeal from the baby monitor. Percy and Annabeth shared a glance.

"Isla." Percy muttered, his eyes suddenly hardening into a look of anger. "He's after Isla. So -"

"So he can get to us." Annabeth finished, with a sigh. "He hates us, remember?"

Percy snorted.

"Understandable. Space food's gross." He said, remembering the quest where he technically wasn't supposed to be there. There was a pause. "If he even _thinks_ about touching her, I swear I'll -"

Annabeth placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That's not going to happen."

"Too right." Percy agreed, strapping his armour up. "Can you go and check on her? And I hate to say this but I imagine I might need a little help after that. I'll meet you outside?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"The great Percy Jackson -" She started.

"-Not quite as great as he has been lived up to be." He said, with a smile.

Annabeth smiled softly, grabbing his t-shirt and pressing her lips against his.

"You're still great to me, Seaweed Brain." She said, with a little smile. "Be careful. Don't get yourself killed. I'll be as quick as I can. I love you."

He grinned, pecking her lips once more.

"I love you too."

Percy nodded, and left the room.

He stepped out of the front door, and the Manticore growled.

"Hey, Dr. Thorn." Percy taunted casually, his sword rested over his shoulder. "How's your digestive system?"

The Manticore roared in dismay, and lunged. He was _not _going to touch Annabeth or his daughter. Percy approached the monster, ready to slash at it with Riptide, until Percy got close enough to smell it's breath. His eyes watered, and he gagged.

"It seems," Percy spluttered, "that space food hasn't just had a terrible effect on your bowels. Ever heard of a toothbrush? It's this thing, and basically you can -"

the Manticore let out a blood curdling growl that made Percy's hair stand on end, and fired its deadly thorns right at Him. Percy dodged most, though a few got stuck in his armour, and one buried itself into his arm. He winced, and flexed his shoulder, before charging at the beast, careful to avoid any flying thorns, but he couldn't get close enough.

"Percy!" He heard Annabeth's voice from behind him. He didn't take his eyes off the monster.

"About time." He muttered, sarcastically, under his breath.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, suddenly beside him.

They shared a quick glance, and Annabeth nodded, which Percy translated as "Isla's fine".

"Asleep." Annabeth mumbled, keeping her eyes on the Manticore, which fired another load of thorns. Annabeth dodged them, but another hit Percy in the leg. He didn't react. "One of us needs to get close to it." Annabeth said, not realising Percy was hurt.

"I distract. You get close." Percy said, limping to her side.

"You're hurt." She said.

"I'm fine." He mumbled.

Annabeth wasn't convinced, but she took his word for it.

"Okay." She said. "Ready?"

Percy nodded grimly, and Annabeth ran towards the Manticore.

"Hey!" Percy shouted. "You! Simba!"

The Manticore took peeled it's gaze from Annabeth onto Percy. He waved his arms like a madman. Anything to turn its attention away from Annabeth. She was so close, almost within stabbing distance. Just a few more seconds...

It fired more thorns at him, but he couldn't move fast enough this time. Three of the thorns hit him, and he fell to the ground, just in time for Annabeth to stab the monster. It turned to gold dust at her feet. She span around, and jogged over to Percy, who smiled sheepishly at her. He tried to move, but winced. Annabeth sighed.

"You idiot." Annabeth said, smiling a little. "Are you okay?"

Percy nodded, trying to sit up, but getting dizzy and laying back down again.

"Fine." Percy said, with a tiny smile. "Shit, that killed me. I'm out of practice."

"So am I."

Percy laughed.

"Didn't look like it." His eyes roved over her, checking for any injury. "Incredible." He mumbled weakly. "Not a scratch."

Annabeth smiled a little, and helped him inside the house. Percy collapsed onto the couch, wincing. Annabeth went into the kitchen, and came back with ambrosia. Percy smiled gratefully, and ate it, being careful not have to much. Annabeth pulled out the thorns, and cleaned the wounds out with nectar. Percy watched her. He loved how her face scrunched up when she was concentrating, and how her tongue stuck out a little. When she was done, he mumbled, "Thank you." But he hated being looked after. It made him feel like a little kid.

Annabeth smiled.

"I told you to be careful." She said, taking everything back to the kitchen. Percy followed her, his wounds healing.

"This is me you're talking to." He said, with a smirk. He held his arms out, inviting her in for a hug. She smiled, and gratefully accepted, burying herself into his chest. He stroked her hair and kissed her head.

"What if he had got hold of Isla?" She mumbled. "What would we do then?"

Percy pulled away, smiling sadly, brushing her hair from her face.

"But he didn't." He said. "You know I'd never let that happen to her. Or you."

Annabeth nodded, and fell back into his chest.

"It just... scares me, you know." She said, her eyes shut tight. "If anything happened to her, I don't know what I'd do."

Percy held her tighter, and kissed her head.

"Me too." He admitted. "But that is _not _going to happen. I'd do anything to keep her safe."

Annabeth nodded slightly. They stood there, in the kitchen doorway, holding each other for a while. The sun was just beginning to rise. The attack scared them both. If anything had happened to Isla, they wouldn't forgive themselves. They didn't say it, but they both knew they would sacrifice themselves for each other, or their daughter.

Percy pulled away, and smiled at her. He checked the time. Not even 6am yet. He took her hand, and led her back upstairs. Percy stripped off his armour, and collapsed into bed, and Annabeth did the same. They lay there, facing each other, not saying anything. Percy innocently twiddled one of Annabeth's curls around his finger. Annabeth smiled, and looked into his eyes. Soon, she got so lost in them, she fell asleep. Percy didn't though. He was too shaken up. What if something had happened to Isla? Or Annabeth for that matter. He would be broken without them, and he knew it.

It had only felt like a few minutes, but his alarm went off. He groaned. It wasn't that he didn't like his job, He just wasn't in the mood for work. Not after everything that happened.

Annabeth opened her eyes.

"You've got work today?" She asked. Percy nodded, and rolled over to get out of bed. Annabeth grabbed his wrist.

"I want you to stay." She whispered, which was totally unlike her. She was a total workaholic. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?" he asked, mockingly.

Annabeth smiled slightly, rolled her eyes, and then nodded.

"Yeah." She said. "I just want you to stay."

Percy grinned.

"Fine by me." He said. "Technically, I'm ill."

Annabeth laughed, and Percy kissed her cheek. After that, the day got better and better.

* * *

**I'm really sorry it's been taking me so long to update all the time, and the chapters are pretty bad quality. I have .homework it's unbearable. All I want to be doing is writing.**

**Over 100 follows. Asdfghjkl, thank you so much!**


	12. Chapter 12

"We should go down to camp for a weekend or something." Percy suggested, throwing a packet of spaghetti into the shopping cart, pulling a face at Isla. He glanced at Annabeth. "I mean, I don't know about you, but we haven't been back since we left and I really miss everyone."

Annabeth sighed wistfully. It sounded like an amazing idea. She was, admittedly, tired. Work had been driving her crazy recently, and Percy had been working hard and doing overtime, and with spending time with Isla on top of that, it was understandably tiring.

"I'd love to." She mumbled. "But what about our commitments here? Isla. Work."

Percy shrugged, squeezing her shoulder.

"What about them? It's only a weekend, right? Isla would _love_ to have a holiday. Besides, imagine everyone's faces when they see her." He grinned, elbowing her in the ribs gently. "Aw, come on Annabeth. It'd be priceless. I know you want to."

Annabeth smiled, looking down at her list.

"Of course I _want_ to." She said. "But, I mean, it's not literally _priceless_, is it? We've gotta pay for gas and -"

Percy interrupted her by laughing, his arm wrapping around her shoulders.

"You've gone all Mummy on me." He kissed her cheek. "And seriously? It's not like it's five hundred miles away, is it? It's... what? One hundred, tops? It's not like we're having any difficulties on the money front anyway."

"And I don't want to." Annabeth said, suddenly coming to a stop halfway down the toiletries aisle, her face suddenly morphed into a questioning one. "What's the date?"

"25th August. Why?"

Annabeth scowled. _Late, late, late._

"Hmmm." She hummed, ignoring him.

"Seriously, what?" Percy asked.

She glanced down at Isla, and then back up at Percy, smiling a little.

"I think... well, I mean I've been shattered recently and I haven't been feeling so great and it's just kind of hit me that I might be pregnant again." She mumbled.

He raised his eyebrows, looking down at Isla, a tiny smile creeping up his lips, trying (and failing) to keep his cool as the smile morphed into a grin.

"I... wow. Gods, that was quick. Awesome." He said, quickly.

Annabeth looked up at him.

"Cool, Percy. Very chill." She smiled. "Look, we don't even know yet. Don't get too excited."

He laughed, kissing her cheek.

"Fine." He said. "Still. It's great."

Annabeth shrugged and smiled.

"We free this weekend? Camp sounds like an awesome idea."

* * *

Percy drove towards camp, Isla in the back, sleeping, Annabeth in the front, humming along to the radio with him, feet up on the dashboard. Percy looked at her, and rolled his eyes.

"You would kill me if I sat like that." He said, smirking.

Annabeth laughed.

"True." She paused, taking her feet down, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She turned the radio down, staring out of the windscreen, not making any eye contact with Percy. "So, I took a test."

Percy glanced over at her, shifting in his seat nervously.

"And...?"

Annabeth grinned.

"I'm scared that if I tell you you'll crash the car and kill us or something." She said, with a smirk.

Percy laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I know anyway. You wouldn't be grinning like that if you weren't."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, shoving his arm.

"You know me too well." She smiled. "Yeah. We're pregnant. Again."

Percy smiled smugly.

"Thought so." He laughed and glanced over at her, still grinning. "I'd kiss you but I'm busy driving."

"It's fine. Save it for later." She put her hand on his leg, squeezing it a little, looking in the mirror at Isla. "Gods, she's sleeping like a log."

Percy smiled, parking up near Half-Blood Hill, pulling the keys out of the ignition. He could see Thalia's tree in the distance, and judging by Annabeth's sad smile, she could see it too. Percy's had found her shoulder and squeezed it. She looked over at him, and kissed him softly.

"This should be fun." He muttered, getting out of the car and unstrapping Isla from her seat, taking her into his arms, earning a squirm of protest. "Sorry, baby." He mumbled, and she snuggled into his chest. He kissed the side of her head and she sighed a little. "What's up with you today, hm?"

Annabeth appeared next to him.

"It probably has something to do with her Daddy falling asleep in front of the TV before putting her to bed." She said, glaring at him.

"Aw, come on." Percy said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I can't be that bad. You wouldn't be having another one with me if I was."

"Mm." Annabeth mumbled, jokingly. Percy shoved her arm playfully, and she laughed, smiling up at him.

"You're such an idiot." She said, and pecked his lips.

Percy laughed.

"I know." He paused. "Shit, we're having another baby."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but took his hand.

* * *

They walked through camp, towards the big house. It was still the summer, so camp was absolutely packed. They were both still pretty famous throughout camp, so everyone recognised them. Aphrodite girls followed Percy around. The younger campers ran away when Percy smiled at them. He smiled. Shy. Others pointed at them, whispering things like, "That's them. They survived Tartarus. I want to be like them one day," and, "I heard that Percy loves Annabeth so much that he jumped down _there_ after her," and, "They have a baby? Wow, maybe we can like, have a normal life." Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other, before smirking.

"We're still famous, then." Percy muttered.

Annabeth grinned.

"Clearly." She said, as they appeared on the steps of the big house. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but it opened before her hand could get there. Chiron stood in front of them in horse form, grinning.

"I saw you come down the hill." He explained. "Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson. And -" He looked at Isla, eyebrows raised. "My, my. You _have_ been busy."

Percy laughed, running a hand through his hair.

"Tell me about it." He smiled, "Annabeth's a Jackson, now." He turned Isla around, who had now woken up. "This is Isla Acacia."

Chiron smiled, and Isla grinned back at him.

"Horsey." She said, before happily playing with the hem of Percy's t-shirt.

Percy sighed, smiling apologetically.

"You gonna say hi to Chiron?" Annabeth asked.

She looked at the centaur, and smiled, suddenly getting a little shy.

"Hi Chiron." She said.

He smiled, raising his eyebrows at Annabeth and Percy.

"It's so nice to see a demigod couple finally settle down. It's so rare to see and it's one of the best parts of all this." He gestured to the big house, the volleyball courts, the cabins. "It's nice to know that people like you have a chance at a normal life."

Annabeth glanced up at Percy.

"We're lucky." She agreed, and he smiled a little.

"What about the others?" He asked. "I mean, Travis and Katie? Clarisse and Chris? Jason and Piper?"

Chiron smiled.

"They were all at the beach last time I checked. Grover and Juniper too. I think Leo and Connor and down there too. Frank and Hazel have come down to visit, as has Nico. I believe Jason and Piper got engaged last week."

Percy and Annabeth grinned at each other. Camp was a great idea. Percy rubbed the back of his neck.

"Do you mind if we...?"

Chiron rolled his eyes.

"Of course." He smiled. "Percy, your cabin hasn't been touched since you left. The three of you are welcome to stay in there."

Percy nodded his thanks.

* * *

"Is that …?" Piper asked, squinting into the distance. "No way... It can't be. No way did they have a... oh my Gods." There was a pause. "It_ is _them." She said, standing up.

Jason frowned, following her eyes.

"Who?"

"Percy and Annabeth." Piper pointed, and all the eyes followed her finger, followed by coughs and laughs and splutters. Everyone stood up, making their way towards them. Percy grinned and waved, but Annabeth was already running over to Piper and Hazel, pulling them into a hug. He smiled softly, strolling over there trying to hide mow much seeing his friends again meant to him. Camp really was a great idea.

Travis, Jason, Leo, Connor, Grover and Leo gawked at Isla.

"How's it going guys?" He asked, smirking,

There was a long pause. All eyes were going from Isla, and back to Percy and Annabeth. Grover smiled at Percy. Of course, he knew Isla existed, but had never actually met her.

"Gods, I knew she'd be gorgeous, but -" He burst into tears, and Percy laughed, putting a hand on his back.

"I know, right." He whispered, kissing Isla's hair. "No pranking. Honestly, she's enough trouble as it is."

Annabeth shoved him.

"You're more trouble than she is, Percy." She joked, smiling.

Percy nodded and grinned, sitting down in the sand. Everyone followed his lead.

"So, let me get this straight." Leo said, holding his hands in the air. "You guys got married. And... that kid's _yours_?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Gods, Leo. Of _course_ she's ours. I mean, look at her."

Jason smiled.

"She looks like a troublemaker." He grinned, nodding. "That's Percy's kid alright."

Percy smirked in agreement.

"She's beautiful." Hazel mumbled quietly, tucking a hair behind her ear.

Percy and Annabeth looked at their daughter, smiling softly.

"She sure is." Frank agreed. "What's her name?"

"Isla Acacia Jackson."

"That's gorgeous." Piper said, quietly, leaning back into Jason's chest. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head.

Percy smiled, letting go of Isla as she wriggled around in his arms, leaving her to crawl about their friends on the sand. He brought a knee up to his chest, keeping one eye on Isla, but looking at Jason and Piper.

"So I heard you guys are getting married."

They both nodded, smiles stretching into grins. Piper raised her eyebrows.

"It would've been nice to hear from you guys, though."

Percy sighed guiltily, and Annabeth lay down, her head resting on his lap. She gestured towards Isla.

"We have been unrealistically busy." She grinned, looking over at Isla. "She's absolutely perfect, and absolutely beautiful, but she is her father all over and never calms down until she's tired, which is getting rarer and rarer unfortunately. She's hard work."

Everyone laughed, including Percy.

"Wouldn't change her for the world, though." She admitted, looking up at Percy. He smiled softly, kissing her forehead. "We're actually having another one."

Hazel raised her eyebrows.

"You're pregnant?"

Percy couldn't stop the grin from forming.

"I am." She admitted. "I only found out yesterday, though."

Percy raised his eyebrows.

"So how come I only found out today, Chase?" He asked, mock hurt lacing his voice.

"I didn't have the chance to last night."

Percy's lips formed a tight line as he tried not to smirk, and Leo's face scrunched up with disgust.

"Too much information." He said.

Everyone else groaned in agreement.

* * *

Annabeth crawled into bed beside Percy, who was looking at the pictures on the wall. Isla was asleep in a travel crib in the corner of the room, snoring softly. He smiled as he tugged one off the wall, handing it to Annabeth. She laughed.

"Twelve years old." Percy muttered. "I have literally known you for half of my life."

Annabeth smiled down at the picture. Annabeth and Percy, a day after their quest, sitting on the beach and laughing, Annabeth's hair flopping in her face.

"It's gone quick, huh?" She said. "You totally had a crush on me for about five years."

Percy smiled, ignoring the last statement.

"It has." He agreed. "But... wow... it's just pretty unreal. These two years have been pretty crazy. We got married." He looked over at Isla. "I mean, we have a _baby_, Annabeth. That's pretty weird. Honestly, when you were kissing me in that mountain, did you see any of this coming, 'cause I most certainly did not."

"Nope." She grinned. "But I'm fucking glad it did."

Percy laughed, pinning the picture back on the wall.

"I couldn't agree more."

* * *

**I really like the chemistry between Percy & Annabeth in this one? Oh, I don't know – that's for you to decide. I guess you've figured updates are going to be nowhere near as frequent as they used to be. I'll aim for three a week. Hopefully I'll be able to do that.**


	13. Chapter 13

Percy walked through the door, running a hand through his windswept hair. He loved his job, but there was always the occasional long day where every single class was rowdier than usual, and he just spends his day generally waiting for the final bell to ring and to be able to go home. He put his bag and his laptop case down by the door, peeling off his cat, kicking off his shoes, and sighing with relief. It was good to be home.

He crept into the living room, finding Annabeth, balancing a phone on her shoulder, Isla in her arm. She gave him a small smile as he pecked her cheek, taking Isla from her, kissing her cheek too. He walked into the kitchen, switching on the kettle, instantly rooting through the cupboard for the tea bags. He smiled as Isla played with his tie.

"You've got the right idea there, kid." He told her, and undid his top button, pulling off his tie. She giggled as he wrapped it around her shoulders.

Percy smiled, kissing her forehead, and sitting her on a char as he made his tea, with a deep sigh.

"Oh, that was a long sigh." Annabeth said, appearing beside him.

Percy smiled a little, handing her a mug of tea. She smiled gratefully and took it.

"Long day?" She asked quietly.

Percy nodded, taking a sip.

"Yeah." He smiled. "I think I'm just tired."

"You and me both, Seaweed Brain."

His expression softened, and he placed a hand on her shoulder as he put his mug down, picking Isla up off the chair, smiling as her eyes started to flutter.

"Go and chill out, Wise Girl. I'll sort this one out." He kissed Isla's hair. "I'll order a pizza?"

"That sounds like and amazing idea." She smiled, and kissed Isla goodnight, stroking her hair out of her face.

"Okay, cool. See you in a minute." he pecked her cheek, and crept upstairs to put Isla to bed.

Annabeth smiled to herself, shaking her head.

"Seaweed Brain." She muttered.

* * *

Percy walked into the living room, cursing as the pizza boxes burned his arms, and dropped them onto the floor, sitting down on the rug. Annabeth slid off the couch to join him, taking a slice of pizza and biting into it greedily. Percy smirked, but took a huge bite out of his pizza anyway. Annabeth laughed.

"So what happened today?" She asked, leaning back against the couch.

Percy shrugged, bringing his knee up to his chest.

"Oh, it was just one of those days." He shrugged again, taking another slice. "I just wanted to come home."

Annabeth smiled softly, before her eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you," she smiled, brushing the crumbs off her hands, "that we have a hospital appointment for Thursday."

Percy began to smile, but he never finished it. He sighed again.

"This Thursday coming?" He asked.

Annabeth nodded.

"Wise Girl, I've got a meeting on Thursday morning, and then it's parents' night. I don't know whether -"

The smile on Annabeth's face faded.

"- you'll be able to make it." She muttered, shooting him a glare. "Don't worry, Percy. I get it. Work is more important than us."

Percy scowled.

"I didn't mean -"

"Oh, really?" Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "I apologise. It just seems to me that work commitments are more important to you than your unborn child. No worries."

She stood up, and Percy stood up with her, standing in front of her, blocking her way. He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were stern.

"That's not fair, Annabeth." He said. "It's not true, and you _know_ it."

Annabeth turned her head away, taking a step back from him.

"I'm just glad you've got your priorities straight." She muttered.

"What was that?" Percy asked, getting annoyed. This was the side of pregnancy he didn't like one bit. Mood swings. One moment, she was laughing and smiling, the next she was giving him a glare so sharp it stung.

"I'm glad you've got your priorities straight." She repeated.

"Oh, come on, Annabeth!" Percy said, raising his voice. "You're being ridiculous and you _know_ that."

"Ridiculous?" Annabeth asked, raising her eyebrows. "Let me define ridiculous for you – Percy Jackson can't be arsed to try and get some time off work to go to a hospital appointment with his wife." She paused. "And back to the priorities – I hardly ever see you any more, Percy. You're always marking or putting up displays or whatever you do at that damn school. I don't know, maybe it would be nice if you spent some time with your family!?"

Percy stared at her, processing what she had just said. He opened his mouth to speak before Annabeth interrupted.

"You're selfish, Percy Jackson." She spat.

His jaw dropped. He knew he was many things, but selfish was _not_ one of them. He shook his head, expression hardening.

"For crying out loud, Annabeth!" He shouted. "I just... what?! Has it never crossed your mind that maybe I put in the extra hours for _us_? There is going to be four of us, Annabeth, and I can't just stroll out of work like that! We need the money! I work with _kids_ for Hades' sake!" He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, fine, I fucking love my job. I love the kids. But do you think that it's anything compared to what I have here?! I have a beautiful daughter sleeping upstairs. A beautiful wife, who, believe it or not, I love more than life itself! Even if she makes it bloody hard sometimes! We're about to have another baby, Annabeth! Do you know just how much that means to me? You three are my everything, and I think you know that!" He let out a deep breath, calming down. "I just..." He shook his head. "I refuse to accept that I'm selfish."

Annabeth sat down on the couch, taking it in. Isla began to cry upstairs, and Percy sighed guiltily.

"I've got this." He said to her softly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder for a second, before quietly jogging up the stairs, two steps at a time.

/

He came down a few minutes later, and quietly sat beside Annabeth, giving her some space. He stared down at the pizza longingly, but he figured this wasn't the right time.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "I shouldn't have shouted like that."

Annabeth shook her head, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand.

"No." She said. "I should be sorry. I was being vile. Everything you said was totally right."

Percy glanced over at her, a smile cracking across his face.

"Truce?" He asked, doing the whole middle school sliding-hand-into-the-middle-of-the-couch-hoping-t hat-she-would-take-it. Annabeth looked at it, and smiled a little, rolling her eyes, and taking it. Percy grinned, taking another piece of (now cold) pizza.

"I'll try and get that time off, okay?"

Annabeth nodded.

"Don't worry if you can't. It's not your fault."

"I'll make it up to you if I can't." He promised.

Annabeth smiled.

"You'd better."

* * *

"I'm back!" Percy said, walking through the front door after work. Needless to say, he didn't get the time off. Only Zeus knew how he would make it up to Annabeth. There was no reply. Percy frowned, slipping off his shoes, wandering into the living room, and then the kitchen. He sighed when he read Annabeth's note on the table.

'Some sort of important client coming into work. Not sure when I'll be back, I'll be as quick as I can.

Can you pick Isla up from nursery please?

Love you!

P.S

I've made a fun game for you. It's called 'guess the gender.' Picture's on the fridge.

Annabeth.

X'

Percy chuckled to himself, before looking over at the fridge, taking the scan picture off, and glancing at it.

"Come on, kiddo." He smiled, nodding. "You look like a boy."

/

Percy arrived home, Isla asleep in his arms. Annabeth walked in grinning, and Percy put a finger to his lips gesturing to Isla, and sitting down on the couch quietly, letting her sleep. Annabeth sat beside him, smiling.

"How'd it go?" Percy whispered, darting her an apologetic look.

Annabeth waved it off with a smile.

"We're both fine. Apparently my blood pressures a little high though, so I've got to 'take it easy.' She's going to keep an eye on it." She shrugged nonchalantly, but Percy's brow furrowed.

"And yet you still go and do overtime?"

"I was interviewing a client Percy. It's hardly going to kill me, is it?"

Percy sighed, but shook his head.

"I guess not. I just worry about you."

Annabeth smiled, resting her head on his shoulder.

"There's no need."

"I know." He smiled. "So, our little game..." Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Is he a boy?"

Annabeth grinned, confirming Percy's answer. He smiled contentedly. Annabeth sighed.

"If he's as annoying as you I swear Isla and I will conjure up an evil plan and prank you or something."

Percy smiled.

"And then I would be even more proud to call her my daughter." He laughed. "Oh, yeah. I can see her making quite the prankster. That's my girl."

* * *

**yuckity yuck. I don't like it sorry.**


	14. Chapter 14

**We're going to have a little change in story line from the original Positive. Oooh.**

**It's not much, seriously, but to be honest with you I feel like something needs to change. I don't know. Okay, I'll shut up now. Enjoy.**

**Wait, don't for a second. I'm sorry it's taking so long for me to update. Homework sucks. GCSEs suck. School sucks.**

**Okay, enjoy now.**

* * *

Christmas Eve morning at the Jacksons'. Annabeth curled up under Percy's arm, who was slouching on the bed, his back against the wall. Isla sat in front of Annabeth, babbling on happily to herself, messing with a teddy she had picked up from her crib. Percy smiled, sticking his tongue out at her and ruffling her hair. He felt Annabeth smile against his chest, and in typical 'mummy style', she licked her thumb and wiped Isla's face, making her squirm.

"That's better." She told her, but Isla obviously wasn't so sure, if the frown was anything to go by.

Percy laughed, and tucked Annabeth's hair behind her ear, before frowning.

"Hey, are you alright? You're burning up, Annabeth."

"I'm fine. Your hands are probably cold."

Percy shrugged.

"No, not really."

Annabeth looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown or worry. She laughed softly.

"I'm fine, Seaweed Brain. I feel totally alright."

"I don't know, Annabeth. You're feeling pretty warm. Maybe we should just get you checked out just to be sa-"

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Percy. It's very sweet that you're worried, honestly, but really, I'm fine. It's pretty hot in here, anyway. Maybe I'm just coming down with a cold or something."

"Probably." Percy agreed, with a sigh. "That's not good, either."

Annabeth laughed, kissing his cheek.

"Uh, we're about to go to your Mom's for three days. Honestly, I get treated like some kind of princess there anyway."

Percy laughed. His Mom did tend to go a little overboard with the hospitality – always buying too much food, going around vacuuming every corner of the house, buying _way_ too much alcohol – which mostly got drank by just her and Paul anyway.

"Ah, Christmas at Mom's." He paused. "Gods, Christmas last year was so weird."

Annabeth smiled.

"Uh, we didn't have Christmas until, like, January." She sighed, looking at Isla. "A year ago already. Gods, where does the time go?" She sighed. "I mean, look at her."

Percy smiled.

"I know. She's still beautiful." He picked her up, pulling her onto his lap, pulling a face at her. She giggled happily, looking at the both of them. "And then you'll pop out this little guy" He put his hand on Annabeth's rounded belly "and all Hades'll be let loose."

Annabeth laughed softly.

"I'm glad he's a boy, though, despite them being generally gross and annoying. It's nice of Hera to give us some variety. And, obviously, he'll keep his father busy."

"Obviously." Percy agreed, grinning. He glanced over at the clock, and sighed. "We're supposed to be at Mom's right now."

"What?"

"It's midday." He said, laughing. "Gods, Mom's going to kill me."

* * *

Percy glanced back at Isla, and then over at Annabeth, before frowning, putting a gentle hand on Annabeth's arm, his other hand on the steering wheel. He pulled over next to his Mom's apartment block, pulling the keys out of the ignition. Annabeth sat beside him, rubbing her eyes. Percy quickly glanced back, aware of his Mom standing by the front doors.

"Annabeth?" He asked, softly. "You sure you're alright? Because, no offence, but you look like shit."

She nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I might just have a lie down for an hour or something. I'm just tired."

Percy raised his eyebrows, his eyes filled with worry.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "Because... well, because..."

Annabeth silenced him with a peck on the lips and a little smile. They were feverish.

"We're both fine." She assured him.

Percy sighed, giving up, his hand leaving her arm.

"Fine." He said, kissing the end of her nose. "Just... please, you would tell me if you really weren't okay, right? Honestly gritting your teeth and being brave, no matter how attractive I find that and how brilliant it is or whatever, it's really not the thing to do in a situation like that. Got it?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Got it." She said, with a sigh. "I'm going to go for a lie down in a minute, anyway. I'll be fine after."

"Mm." Percy agreed reluctantly, getting out of the car, checking his watch, and smiling apologetically at Sally. "Sorry Mom." He shouted. "Slept in."

Sally rolled her eyes, and Annabeth got out of the car, smiling softly, holding onto the edge of the car to steady herself. Percy shot her a concerned look, but she waved it off, opening the trunk. Percy shook his head.

"Don't worry about that, Wise Girl. Go inside. It's bloody freezing."

She smiled a quick thank you, and shuffled inside. Percy shut the doors, leaning into the back to get Isla gently, trying not to wake her up. He picked her up, and she snuggled into his shoulder in her sleep. Percy couldn't hold back a smile, and kissed the side of her head gently, grabbing the bags from the trunk."

He looked over to the door, to find him Mom still stood there, wearing a look that was so sappy, he sighed loudly, walking through the snow towards her. She smiled.

"Hello beautiful." She whispered, grinning.

Percy smirked.

"Thanks." He said. "What was that look for?"

Sally frowned.

"What look?" She asked.

"You looked really particularly sappy then, you know that?" He asked, kissing her cheek, going up the steps towards their apartment.

Sally laughed, reaching over and ruffling his hair, like she did when he was a kid.

"It's just weird seeing you with your own little family."

Percy laughed.

"And weird they are." He agreed, with a grin, before sighing. "Did Annabeth seem right to you?"

Sally shook her head.

"No." She said. "She seemed a bit zoned out. Tired, maybe?"

Percy nodded a little.

"I guess." He sighed. "She's got a bit of a temperature, though. I'll keep an eye on her. You know what she's like. She went for a nap, right?"

Sally nodded, and took Isla from his arms as she walked through the door.

"Right." She said. "Just dump your bags in there."

Percy nodded, and crept into his old bedroom, Annabeth already snuggled under the covers. He smiled softly, quietly placing their things on the floor, and bending down to kiss her cheek gently, tucking a hair away from her face. She smiled a little.

"Call me if you need anything." He whispered. "Love you."

She nodded a little.

"Love you too." She mumbled.

He smiled, and gently pressed his lips against her cheek once more, before creeping out of the room, and closing the door behind him silently, emitting a tiny sigh, and walking down to the living room, snuggling onto the couch, Isla sat on his lap, his arms around her. He kissed her blonde curls, and she squirmed.

Sally and Paul glanced at each other, before sighing.

"You okay, Percy?" Paul asked.

Percy nodded a little, and smiled.

"Fine. Just worrying."

Sally sighed.

"As always."

Percy laughed.

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "She's not well. I'm going to call the hospital if she's not better by later, I think."

Sally nodded.

"I think that would be a good idea."

Percy smirked.

"She'll kill me."

"She'd also kill you if you didn't and there was something wrong with the baby."

Percy's stomach dropped. He turned pale. He blinked.

"What... something wrong with... oh my gods. What if there _is _something wrong with him? Shit, I gotta... I gotta call the hospital. I just... can I use your phone? Please?"

Sally sighed again.

"Percy, wait until later, okay? Don't panic, sweetie. She probably is just tired. Seriously, being pregnant knocks you out."

He blinked again, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah." He sighed. "Yeah. I was overreacting."

* * *

"Annabeth?" He whispered, poking his head around the door. "You've been sleeping for ages." he sat on the edge of the bed. "You okay?"

She shook her head microscopically.

"No." She said, struggling to find her voice. "There's... I just." She groaned softly. "My head is killing me. Th...tere's something not right, Percy. I feel so sick and... and I just..." A tear slipped from her eye. "I think something's wrong. With him. Or me. I don't... I can't..."

Percy's stomach dropped, but despite his fear, he felt an overwhelming determination. The baby was going to be fine. Annabeth was going to be fine.

"Annabeth." He mumbled. "It's going to be okay. I promise. I'm going to call the hosp... I'm going to call for an ambulance, alright?"

Annabeth nodded.

"What if there's something wrong with him, Percy? What if we've lost -"

"Don't say that." Percy scolded. "We haven't. We haven't lost him. I'm sure it's nothing." He paused, realising how unconvinced he sounded. "And... even if something is wrong, we'll get through it, Wise Girl. Don't worry Annabeth. I love you. He's gonna be fine."

* * *

**I'm trolling you so bad right now, sorry. It's a cliffhanger. Nothing like a bit of suspense. I'll be as quick as I can with the next chapter, okay? Have a lovely day.**


	15. Chapter 15

"How long have I been out?" Annabeth croaked, opening an eye. Percy was sat on a chair beside her, both hands holding hers, his eyes dark with worry. Annabeth looked around. Sterile walls. Machines. Uncomfortable bed. Hospital. Percy smiled a little, brushing a hair away from her face, kissing the end of her nose softly.

"Couple of hours." He said, quietly, squeezing her hand a little. "How are you feeling?"

Annabeth sighed.

"Not great." She admitted. "Is..?"

Percy rubbed the back of his neck.

"The baby's fine, at the moment." He assured her. He smirked a little. "It's just you."

Annabeth smiled weakly.

"They did a load of tests on you, I guess." He said. "I have no idea what they were, but -"

They were interrupted by a knock, and an authoritative looking head poking around the door, before she walked in, clipboard in hand. She smiled a little.

"Annabeth." She smiled. "Glad you're awake. So, I'll just give you the run-down. We've performed a few tests, and they're all typical for something called pre -"

Annabeth sighed.

"- ecalmpsia." She finished. "How bad?"

"It's a pretty severe case, I'm afraid. It would explain the headache, the pain. Swollen hands and feet. How's your vision?"

Annabeth sighed.

"Blurry." She admitted, and put a hand on her forehead. "I could have spotted this earlier." She muttered.

Percy frowned.

"Hey, this isn't your fault." He told her. "Don't blame yourself, okay?"

She nodded a little, too tired to argue.

"So what are our options?" She asked, shuffling back so she was sitting up a little more.

"There are two – we can leave it, and take the risk. Bear in mind this is a _huge_ risk to your health, and the baby's health. Or we can go ahead and get this baby out today."

Percy frowned, his eyes darting to Annabeth, to the doctor, Annabeth, doctor.

"But it's too soon though, right?" He asked, rubbing his arm nervously.

The doctor nodded.

"Yes." She admitted. "He will have to stay in hospital for a little while. He'll probably need a little help breathing, and he'll still be very tiny, but there is a very good chance he'll be okay. He's very healthy."

Percy sighed, taking Annabeth's hand.

"What's the safest for the both of them?" He asked.

The doctor flicked through her notes, and glanced at a couple of readings.

"It's safest to go for it today." She checked her watch. "I have a slot in an hour. I could fit you in for a C-section then?"

Annabeth glanced at Percy, silently asking. He nodded, and Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"Okay." She said. "We'll do it." She paused. "Percy's allowed with me though, right?"

Percy squeezed her hand. The doctor nodded.

"Of course. He'll have to change into some rather fetching blue scrubs, though."

Percy smiled.

"They sound wonderful."

The doctor smiled.

"Oh, they are. I'll come by to get you in around 45 minutes."

* * *

Percy sat back in his chair, and glanced over at Annabeth. He sighed a little.

"December is proving to be a rather expensive month." He noted. "Two Christmas Babies. And Christmas."

Annabeth hummed in agreement, tentatively placing her hands over her bump, sighing deeply. Percy took one of them, giving her a reassuring smile. She couldn't help but smile back and he leaned in, pecking her lips.

"He'll be fine." Percy promised. "He's _our_ son, remember? He's a strong kid," he smiled, "like his mother. You'll both come out of this alright."

Annabeth sighed guiltily. She had read about this countless times, and yet she was still too stubborn to accept that she wasn't well, and now here she was, putting her baby's life at risk. She held back a tear. Merry fucking Christmas.

Percy's brow furrowed, and he wiped the tear away, before perching on the bed, putting his arm around her. He didn't say anything – he didn't have to. He was there, and he didn't blame her, and he loved her, and she knew that. Her head fell back onto his chest, and he kissed her forehead, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"I'm scared." She muttered.

Percy sighed into her hair.

"I know." He whispered. "Me too."

Annabeth glanced up at him, and it was silent for a while.

"So... what's gonna happen?" Percy asked. "I mean, will we be able to like, see him? Or will he be too sick?"

Annabeth shrugged.

"Depends, I guess." She said. "We won't be able to take him home, though, Percy. I mean... I didn't..." She sighed. "It's just not fair."

Percy half-smiled, kissing her nose.

"Since when did 'fair' ever come into our life, Annabeth?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

She smiled a little.

"I guess." She murmured. "I just thought that maybe we deserved a bit of a break."

Percy shrugged.

"We've got it right here, Annabeth. Isla's perfectly healthy, always has been." He paused. "And at least he's doing okay. He's a little early." He smiled. "We should take that for granted. More time to spend with him before he turns into a grumpy teenager and fights with his sister all the time."

Annabeth put her head in her hands, although Percy could see the flicker of a smile.

"Oh Gods. Don't remind me."

Percy shook his head.

"No, I'm looking forward to it." He grinned. "I get to spend my day taking the piss every time they're moody or something."

Annabeth glared at him.

"Well, I'm not dealing with it if they stop talking to you or whatever."

He smiled.

"Sure. You -"

There was a knock on the door, and they exchanged a nervous glance. The doctor, poked her head around the door, holding a pile of blue clothing under her arm. She chucked them to Percy with a smile.

"We're almost ready for you. I'll be back in five to come and get you." She looked at Percy. "I told you they were lovely. Put them on, I'll be back in a few minutes."

He looked down at them.

"Thanks." He said.

She left the room again, and Percy pulled the trousers on over his jeans, pulling off his hoodie and throwing on the t-shirt. He sighed when he saw the hat at the bottom of the pile, and decided to leave it off for a while. Annabeth smirked.

"Fetching." She mumbled.

"I know, right." He said, and took her hand.

"Don't let go." She whispered to him.

He kissed her forehead.

"Never."

* * *

"You sure you're feeling up to it?" Percy asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, smiling softly.

"I'm fine." She said. "Look, Percy, he's our son, and unlike you, I haven't even seen him yet. Can we just go?"

He grinned, patting the seat on the wheelchair.

"Sure." He said. In the two minutes he saw his baby for, the first thing he did was laugh softly. And then he sighed, realising just how small he was. Annabeth still didn't see what was so funny. She lowered herself into it, wincing, ignoring the look Percy gave her. He kissed her cheek, and wheeled her through the corridor, almost crashing into everyone, making Annabeth laugh.

"Please don't make me laugh." She said, wincing.

He smirked.

"Sorry." He said, going backwards to push the door open with his back. He scanned the room for a familiar tiny head of black hair, before smiling, and wheeling Annabeth over. He was in a plastic box, and a nurse had obviously tried to wrestle a cap onto his head, but obviously he had failed to co-operate – it was left on a side table. Percy dragged a chair over and sat beside Annabeth, who looked at him nervously, her nose so close to the plastic that it steamed up with every breath she took. Her eyes were red and a little teary, but she smiled.

"I get what's so funny, now." She mumbled, shooting Percy a glare. "He looks just like you, Perseus."

He nodded, snaking an arm around her shoulders.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper. "He's tiny, Percy. And... and all the wires and..."

"He'll be fine." He told her, kissing her temple. "I'm sure of it."

Annabeth looked at him, before resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you." She told him. "I just... I'm really lucky to have you, Percy."

He smiled.

"Thanks." He kissed her hair. "It's the other way around, though Wise Girl. Love you too."

She rolled her eyes, before looking at the baby sadly.

"You'd better get through this, kid." She told him.

"Listen to your Mother, Buddy. She's scary when she's angry." Percy added.

Annabeth gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder, and he laughed.

"He needs a name." Annabeth said.

"Charlie." Percy said, without a moments hesitation.

Annabeth nodded.

"Charlie Perseus Jackson."

Percy glared at her.

"No."

Annabeth nodded.

"Yes." She paused. "Percy, listen to me. Firstly, Charlie didn't have the best ending in the world, and I do not want that to happen to this little guy. You, however, unlike the original Perseus, are going to have a happy ending. Hence Perseus. Also, I just... I'm very fond of you, Jackson."

He raised his eyebrows, but shook his head.

"I don't like it." he shrugged. "I'm sorry. We're not naming my son after me, okay? And I hate the name anyway."

Annabeth sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You're difficult."

"I know."

She sighed again, before a smile crept across her face.

"Charlie Paul Fredrick Jackson."

Percy grinned at that.

"You realise if we agree to this, Paul will. Not. Shut. up. About. it."

"Yep."

Percy smiled.

"Charlie Paul Frederick Jackson it is, then."


	16. Chapter 16

Percy sighed, staring into his mug dejectedly. It was early boxing day morning, and they had kept Annabeth in hospital for a few nights – she still wasn't 100%.

"I... I don't know, Mom." He mumbled. "Annabeth's getting better – I wouldn't be surprised if she's discharged today, actually. But Charlie... he's still struggling. And I keep on promising Annabeth he'll be fine, but honestly... he's not well, Mom. I just... it breaks my heart. He's only a couple of days old, and he's _tiny_, and he's been through so much already. I don't know if..." He shook his head.

Sally sighed softly.

"Don't give up on him just yet, Percy. Remember who his Mom is."

He smiled a little, taking a sip.

"I haven't." He promised. "I hope he gets through this, not for me, not for Annabeth, not for Isla, but just because he has had the worst start in life ever, and he deserves so much better."

"It can only go up from here." She told him, with a little smile.

Percy sighed.

"I hope so." He muttered. "I'm taking Isla with me today. Annabeth misses her. Want to come and meet Charlie?"

Sally grinned.

"What kind of question is that?" She asked. "Paul's busy, but I can come."

Percy smiled.

"Good. He needs to meet you. Um.. just in case..." He shook his head. The idea of that was far to painful to imagine. "I'm not thinking about that, okay. Good. I'll just go get Isla up." He smiled a little. "Seriously, she sleeps more than I used to."

Sally laughed softly, and Percy smiled, creeping down the corridor to Isla's room, silently opening the door and closing it behind him, opening the curtain a little. His smile got a little wider as he leant over the travel crib, looking down at his daughter. He brushed the back of his hand over her cheek, not even waking her. He rolled his eyes, and picked her up gently, kissing the side of her head. She squirmed in protest, and Percy chuckled, creeping over to a chair in the corner of the room and sitting in it, cuddling Isla as she woke.

"I'm sorry, beautiful." He whispered. "I've not been the best dad in the world for the past couple of days, have I?" he kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, angel. Your brother's not very well, that's all, and I'm kind of worried about him. How was your Christmas?" He asked her, not really expecting an answer. "It'll be better next year, I promise. We'll actually like, have a Christmas, for once. I have missed two Christmases. I don't mind though, because you," he bopped her nose, "are far more important. And Charlie. I'm going to tell you about who Charlie was named after. He was a really good friend of mine at this camp we used to go to, and we were playing this game, and I was talking to your Mother, and after she had gone, he was like "Why don't you just ask her out, man?" He was totally right to say that, because I think I loved her, even then. Turns out she heard, and asked me instead. So I owed him enough in the first place. And then we went on this mission together." He paused. "And he... um. He sacrificed himself to hold this really evil guy up for a little while. He saved my life."

He looked down at her, and she looked up at him.

"Where's Mommy?"

He laughed.

"Come on, Kid. Lets go see her."

* * *

Percy and Sally said a quick "Hi" to Annabeth, and left Isla with her before going to see Charlie.

Everyday before Percy walked into that room, he had to prepare himself. Not even being able to hold him was hard enough, but seeing him hooked up to all the machines and all the wires hit him the hardest. It was also the uncertainty – he couldn't be sure if he would still have a son by the end of the week, and every night before he slept, that was his last thought. He always had to say goodbye like it was permanent, and that was the hardest thing in the world. He would swap places if he could – Charlie was so young, so tiny, so _innocent_ and he was already having to go through all this. Percy wouldn't have wished it upon anybody.

He stood at the door, and looked a his Mom.

"Uh, he looks really kinda... ill, I guess. And tiny. Just to -"

Sally rolled her eyes.

"I think I can deal with it, Percy. Compared to the state I've seen you come home in."

Percy laughed a little.

"I guess. Okay." He smiled, pushing open the door. "He's like a tiny version of me, I actually laughed when I first saw him."

Sally smiled, and pointed to a box at the corner on the room.

"That's got to be him." She said, with a tiny smile.

Percy nodded, and crept over, sitting in the chair beside him sighing deeply.

Sally stood, looking down at him, her lips pressed into a line. She glanced at Percy.

"I see what you mean." She whispered. "And I can see why I heard you last night."

"What?" Percy asked.

Sally sighed, still looking down at the baby in the box.

"You were crying your eyes out."

Percy looked down.

"Oh... that." He sighed. "Don't tell Annabeth. She really doesn't need to hear that right now. This is already hard enough for her." He paused. "I just hope she stops blaming herself. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't anybody's fault. She's beating herself up about it, and I can't stand that."

"She'll be fine." Sally said. "She's the strongest woman I've ever met."

Percy smiled.

"I know." He put his hand through the hole in the box, running a finger over Charlie's cheek gently. "Let's just hope this little guy has inherited that."

"I'm sure he has." She said, placing a hand on Percy's shoulder.

Percy nodded, and sighed.

And then there was a beeping sound.

The kind of beeping sound you get on hospital dramas. Percy's stomach dropped to the ground, and suddenly he was surrounded by nurses.

"No." He whispered. A tear fell from his eye when he was asked to move. He stood five metres away, feeling the eyes of all the other parents burning into him. He choked back a sob. "Oh, please. Gods, no." He watched for a second longer. "I can't be in here. I can't... I need to... I'm going to get Annabeth." he said, and started to walk out of the room.

"Percy." Sally said. She looked at him sternly. "_I'll_ get Annabeth. You stay here."

Percy shook his head.

"Percy." She said, again, her voice harsh. "Charlie needs you in here. Don't give up on him. I'll be as quick as I can."

She left, and Percy stood there helpless, watching doctors trying to save his son's life.

"Please." He whispered, looking up to the ceiling. "If you're listening. Please don't let me lose him."


	17. Chapter 17

Percy put his hand on the top of Charlie's box, wiping a tear from his cheek.

It was a tear of relief, thank the Gods.

He sighed, looking down at the baby – he was looking tinier and more fragile than ever. It was only a couple of minutes ago, but since he stopped breathing, doctors had already added more machines and wires to the cocktail to help him with that.

Now, more than ever, Percy was scared that he would never come home.

"Percy." A soft voice choked from the doorway. Percy turned around. His eyes were still red and teary, but right then he didn't care. Annabeth slowly walked over, her eyes dark with worry and dread. "Is Charlie...?"

Percy ran a hand through his hair.

"He's... he's still here." He whispered, his arm gently snaking around Annabeth's shoulders as she eventually appeared beside him. "But he's..." Percy sniffed. "He's..." He raised his arms in exaggeration. "I'm not giving up hope, and I'm not going to. I just... I think I led you into a false sense of security." He whispered, wrapping his arms around himself. "This is going to sound horrible, but if he's suffering like this... I mean..."

Annabeth looked up at him, before resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know, Percy." She whispered, before breaking down silently. "I'm so sorry. If I hadn't been so stubb-"

Percy shook his head, pulling her into his arms.

"Shhh." He mumbled into her hair. "This isn't your fault. It's nobody's fault."

She didn't say anything, so Percy pulled away silently, his hands gripping the top of her arms sternly yet reassuringly.

"It's. Not. Your. Fault." He told her, looking straight into her eyes. "You _know_ me. If I thought it was your fault I would have told you, and I don't understand how you don't realise that."

Annabeth looked down.

"Annabeth." Percy whispered softly, taking her back into his arms. Another tear dripped down his cheek."You're killing me, Wise Girl. I hate seeing you like this."

She sighed softly into his shoulder.

"I know." She mumbled. "I'm sorry."

Percy sighed into her hair, pulling away again, brushing a hair from her tear-streaked face.

"I'm not asking you to be sorry." He told her. "I'm asking you to stop blaming yourself for all this. This is nobody's fault." He gestured to Charlie. "This little guy needs you. He's still here, Annabeth. He can still make it through this, and you _know_ that." Percy smiled a little. "He's stubborn, like us. He's not going to give up very easily, Wise Girl."

Annabeth sighed, looking down at their son, before smiling a little. One of the knots in his stomach loosened as he saw that, and his arm snaked back around her shoulders.

"Gods." She whispered. "I can't get over how much he looks like you."

Percy chuckled softly.

"Poor kid." He said, kissing Annabeth's hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. They're discharging me in a little while." She said, stiffly.

Percy looked at her, eyebrows raised, lips curled into a tiny smile.

"Well, at least..." He stopped when he saw her expression, and his hand slipped down into hers, squeezing it a little. "It hurts leaving him." Percy admitted, quietly. "But you've just gotta remember this is the best place for him to be, right now. It's the uncertainty, I think, that's horrible – you've just got to make sure you say goodbye before you go."

Annabeth nodded once, looking down at her feet.

"And Isla still needs her Mom." Percy added, softly. "She missed you. We both missed you."

She nodded again, and sighed, squeezing his hand back.

"I missed you guys too."

Percy kissed her temple.

"Good." He mumbled, a tiny smirk gracing his lips.

"Idiot." Annabeth murmured under her breath.

Percy laughed softly.

"Love you too." He said, glancing over at her with a smile.

* * *

A week later, the phone rang in the night. They had kept it by the bed now, just in case. The sleep they had got had only been light dozing, and they felt like zombies stuck in a routine – get up; feed Isla; bath Isla; eat; shower; got to hospital; see Charlie; come home; feed Isla; put Isla to bed; make small talk through dinner; worry about Charlie whilst half-watching a movie; go to bed. Annabeth, who was already awake, snatched the phone off the side table and answered it.

At this point, Percy had switched on the lamp, and sat up, his black hair mussed and his chest bare, his heart pounding against his ribs, the knots in his stomach tightening.

"Hello?" Annabeth asked softly. "... is he okay?... are you serious!?" She asked, biting her lip, eyes wide, looking at Percy. "... And he's well enough?..." That's when the tears fell from her eyes, and the smile stretched across her face. She looked up at the ceiling, covering the receiver with her hand.. "Thank you." She whispered, and placed the phone back to her ear. "... Thank you so much" She choked. "... Tomorrow morning, for sure... thank you so much..." She hung up, and stared down at the phone for a second, before meeting Percy's gaze.

Her Seaweed Brain, bless him, was sat bolt upright, looking straight at her. Annabeth smiled widely, for the first time in what felt like ages.

"He's coming home, Percy." She whispered.

Percy blinked, disbelieving, a smile stretching across his face.

"Seriously?" He asked.

Annabeth nodded again, and Percy threw his arms around her.

"I love you." He whispered. "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou."

* * *

**It's very short, I'm afraid. Quite emotional, too – I kind of get attached to the characters I write about and kind of hate making them suffer, it makes me feel kind of bad? I don't even know if that's normal.**

**Okay, keep reviewing – I love hearing feedback from you guys – you're all fabulous people. I just want to say thank you for following and things too, you literally would not believe how much it actually means to me.**

**Have an awesome day, whatever you're doing.**

**I love you guys.**


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